Timeless Love
by Rassilon001
Summary: A love that transcends time and space linking two people together, one from the future, one from the past. Leading one to undertake a perilous journey of discovery to find the other. An older story lovingly polished off and freshened up a bit.
1. Journey Home

**Disclaimer:  
**I don't own the Teen Titans, though I sure wish I did. Or maybe just a pair of hot Tamaranian Princesses to give me a 'bath.' Yum-yum. They all belong to DC Comics and Warner Brothers.

**Summary:  
**A love that transcends time and space, linking two people, leads one to undertake a journey to find the other. Takes places after the events of 'Cyborg the Barbarian' and was originally something of my own personal response to the lack of Sarasim stories on the website. Something that has _still_ yet to be rectified. Rated PG-13 just to be on the safe side, for epic action violence and some romance.

* * *

3000 B.C., give or take.

The time of the early Bronze Age, when mankind first began to fashion weapons of sturdy metals and make things both terrible and wondrous. A time when the first human villages began to sprout up throughout the landscape under the watchful eyes of their human builders. A time when things truly began to change.

One such city rested on the coastline of the great river, in the center of the known world (for it's inhabitants had never ventured more than a hundred miles in any direction from their home). It's name would one day be forgotten in the annuls of history, as would a great deal of it's people. They were just one of many villages after all, only a hundred of millions of people who lived and died during this period of time. Noteworthy for their accomplishments as people, not as individuals. However, during this time, two had risen to fame. Such that their names could not be spoken aloud without everyone knowing instantly who they were.

The first was The Cyborg, who had fallen from the skies to save them from a great and terrible enemy. So mighty he was, the people of the village whispered, no sword could pierce his armored body, and he could call down the power of thunder itself to destroy any who threatened the ones he protected. Some said he'd had the strength of a dozen men, at least. Some said he had turned the course of a river with his bare hands. The veterans of the Great Battle spoke of such things to their children still.

The other legend was their leader, the wise leader, Sarasim. If Cyborg could destroy any foe with his strength, Sarasim could solve any problem with her wisdom. She too had fought in the Great Battle, many years ago. She was twice the warrior of any male in the village, and her wits were sharp as a daggers. Which was why she was their leader still.

But the children of the village heard a sadness when the two heroes were spoken of together, from any who fought in the Great Battle. They had been lovers, it was said, and when the Battle had ended, no sign of Cyborg could be found, as if he'd been swallowed back up by the earth itself. Some said he perished in the great battle, but no sign of his body had been found afterwards. His tomb lay empty, though the people had grieved for his loss.

Only Sarasim knew the truth of the matter.

* * *

The ring of metal was enough to identify the blacksmith even to those struck blind in both eyes. It was open aired, which proved fortunate in the heat of the city during the summer months, when the forge was good and hot. The door had been left open this day, and many beautiful wares lay on the tables outside, waiting to be claimed by those with the coin, interest, and need.

Sarasim politely cleared her throat and addressed its sole occupant as she stepped inside. "Master Blacksmith?"

"Come in," said the man, dark-skinned and bearded, taking a moment to wipe his forehead as he turned towards the doorway. "What can I do for... Lady Sarasim!"

She smiled, her beautiful face twisting into a faint grimace. "Please, I have never cared for that title. I am Sarasim only."

"As you wish," he replied, setting aside the tools of his trade and turning his attention fully to her. "What can I do for you?"

"You have already done much for this city, old friend," she said, addressing the older man affectionately, for she had known him for many, many years. "You and your son both have stood beside me and helped to build this city and protect it from outsiders. For that alone, I thank you."

The Blacksmith nodded his head at her words. "It is true, but we have been glad to serve under such a skilled warrior as yourself. Honored even."

"I fear that time is at an end," she stated quietly, drawing her cloak around her shoulders more tightly. Despite the heat of the warm summer night and the fire from the blacksmith's workshop, she felt a sudden chill. It went right down to the bone. "It is high time I stepped down... and allowed another to take my place as leader."

"Who?"

"Can you not guess?" she asked slyly.

"Me?" he asked in astonishment.

"Is your son not already our newest champion? You have displayed your valor on more than one occasion, old friend, and your wisdom as well. You need not think yourself lacking. You and your family have been good to the village."

"But... why?" he asked. "Why now?"

She hesitated a long moment before replying, as if wrestling with the answer herself. "I... I cannot go on," she stated simply. "There is a journey I must take... else I will never feel complete. Never whole," she said softly, her voice dropping down to a low whisper.

The blacksmith quirked an eyebrow at this. "You seek Cyborg..."

She nodded simply. "If he is dead, I must know, so I may properly mourn his loss... but if he lives..."

Her voice trailed off.

Nodding to himself, the blacksmith placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. It was so easy to forget, sometimes, that Sarasim was, despite all her wisdom and strength, a young woman. She'd been scarcely an adult when the Great Battle had come upon them. She'd borne the burden of leadership well. The burdens of the heart were not so easy.

"Go," he said simply. "You will be missed, Sarasim... and we will never forget you. Or our champion."

She nodded, brushing away the hot tears suddenly forming at her eyes. "Thank you, old friend... I... I intend to go immediately. Tonight, under the darkness of the new moon... you will tell the others?"

He nodded, and she gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek as a sign of her gratitude before stealing away into the night, the hood of her cloak drawn up to conceal her features as she skirted away as silently as a shadow.

"I certainly hope you find what you're looking for, Sarasim," intoned the older man, watching her go.

* * *

Sarasim crept over the high wall of her home, hopped lightly down the far end, and immediately made her way in the darkness towards the river at the edge of her former home. The source of it's power and it's prosperity. She carried only two belongings with her. A short sword that rested at her hip, sharp and deadly (for whatever dangers lay out there for her).

And around her neck lay a thin leather cord. At the end of which was secured a small rectangular rock of blue, silver, and white. A piece of Cyborg's armor Sarasim had found after the Great Battle. Always she kept it close as a reminder of him.

As she walked, her mind drifted back into her memories, and she could see it all as clearly as if it happened the other day...

* * *

_"I may have failed you as a hero," growled Krall, making his way towards her in huge, earth-shaking steps, his new sickly green body rippling with power as he drew closer to her. "But I shall _triumph_ as your _**conqueror**_!"_

Triumph was not yet yours_, thought Sarasim, activating the hidden switch in her gauntlet to allow her wrist-blade to slip out and lock into place. Quickly, she lashed out with her arm, hoping to run Krall through, but with seemingly no effort at all the great brute grasped her hand in his own, stopping the attack._

_Krall's own mighty fist reared back, then struck with the speed and force of a battering ram. Sarasim cried out as she seemed to fly backwards, slamming hard against the ground. The blow had shook loose her bronze helmet, which clattered to the ground several yards from her position, though she praised the Gods she had worn it. Without it, she was sure at the very least her skull would have been fractured by the blow._

_As it was, she found she couldn't move. She lay there, stunned, unable to fight back. Utterly helpless._

_"NO!"_

_She heard the cry go out, recognized the voice. Cyborg. He was coming to save her._

_"Out of my **WAY**!"_

_The sounds of battle erupted more fiercely than ever somewhere to her left, and she could hear the great sword Cyborg wielded as it clanged heavily against the armored hides of the beasts Krall had loose upon them all. He was tearing his way through a sea of them, or so it seemed, to save her._

_Whether or not he would be in time was another question._

_Krall reached down and grabbed the front of her chest plate, hauling her up into the air as if she weighed no more than a mere child. She reached out, grasping his wrist, but was unable to pry him off, and her legs remained weak from the first blow. She had no more strength left to fight him, and she watched in horror, bright blue eyes wide, as Krall drew back his fist once more..._

_A strange noise filled the air, carrying over the sounds of battle as clearly as if it's source stood right beside her. The strange whirr and click of Cyborg's armor. "Sarasim! Don't move!"_

_Time seemed to slow._

_Her eyes widened in shock and she turned her head to see her knight in bronze armor being carried away by a black wave of the creatures. No doubt they were intent to keep them separated instinctively. Or perhaps Krall had even ordered as much of them. Cyborg's right gauntlet had been torn clean off and his hand had... _changed_... into the strange object he used to call forth the thunder. She had seen him use it many times before, but he said it drained him. And with so little strength left in his body..._

_And then she knew._

_He intended to sacrifice himself... to save her one last time. And there was absolutely nothing she could do._

_The whirr of Cyborg's arm grew louder, and she could see it in his eyes too, he knew it was a desperate gamble at best, and it was the only way he could save her. She saw too, in his eyes... both of his eyes... the strange red one and his pale gray one... she could see he would not hesitate to do it either._

_He loved her. And she him._

_Then something... unexpected happened._

_As the bright glow of blue lightning coalesced around Cyborg's arm, at the mouth of his device, there seemed an odd whirl in the air above his head. Only Sarasim saw it, not even Cyborg noticed the rift until a bird's claw comprised of dark energy lashed out and grabbed a hold of him, yanking Cyborg suddenly up and out of the reach of Krall's beasts and towards the rift..._

_"Noooooooooooo...!"_

_Cyborg's final cry still echoed in her mind, on occasion, when she felt despair most keenly. But his efforts had not been in vain, she saw. Just as the rift drew closed, a bolt of blue shot forth from it, speeding towards her. She closed her eyes, having full faith in Cyborg and his magic. He had boasted to her once before that he never missed. She believed him._

_Her faith was well rewarded. The blast missed her by scant inches, to be fair, but she emerged the blast without a scratch._

_The same could not be said for Krall. The blast impacted fully against him, striking him in the chest with the full fury of the armored hero behind it, and sent him flying through the air, much as she had, moments earlier. He landed with a bone-crunching thud on the ground, so hard it seemed the village shook from the impact. She landed and immediately went into a roll, minimizing much of the impact. Her armor absorbed most of the damage, but she would be sore for a week, at least._

_What happened next was a blur, but she dimly recalled lifting herself up and making her way to Krall, who was dead by the time he'd hit the ground. With their leader defeated, the green beasts had fled, and Sarasim stood atop of the defeated conqueror's body and threw up her sword, as her people issued a victory chant._

_They had few casualties, which was fortunate, and even fewer injured. Mostly bruises and broken bones here and there. But of Cyborg, there was no sign. Only the strange piece of his armor, broken off during the battle, remained as a reminder of their bravest defender._

* * *

A heavy sigh escaped her lips, and Sarasim took a moment to mourn Cyborg's loss. She had done so many times in the years since he had vanished. Not dead, no, she did not believe that. Her hand instinctively came to the talisman around her neck. The only piece of him left. No, he was not dead... she was sure of that. They were bound by forces stronger than magic or technology or circumstance.

They were bound at the soul, as if they were in fact a single one that had been split in half.

But now they were separated, and having met him, Sarasim would never be content here in her home. She would be left with a void in her, incomplete, unwhole. She needed to find him to fill that void. To be complete once more.

And thus, her journey had brought her here.

The people of her village knew of and feared this place, and rightly so. She had learned of it from an underling of Krall's who had the good mind to leave the village shortly after his defeat. It was a mountain range, black spires and forbidding chasms. The river had led her this way, though in the dark, her steps grew slower and more cautious, and her hand rests on the hilt of her sword as she made her way forward, aware of the dangers of these black rocks. Nor was the environment the only danger. Here, the shadows were alive and breathed, and seemed to watch her as she past. A chill ran down her spine, but she stubbornly ignored it.

Finally, she found the cave she'd been told of. It was not easy to mistake. An eldritch blue light lit up the walls, illuminating it dimly despite the thick, ever-present fog. It was also cold... far colder than it should have been. The chill of death lingered in the air.

Steeling herself, Sarasim called out bravely, "Witch. Show yourself."

A harsh intake of breath made the warrior maiden whirl around, hand on her sword hilt, legs spread in a defensive stance. However, when no sudden attack came, she allowed herself to relax a little.

The Witch stood before her.

Her age was impossible to determine, but ancient would not be an inaccurate term to describe the sickly woman who stood before Sarasim. She was bent and withered with age, shuffling forward towards her as if she required all of her will not to crumble to ash then and there. Her eyes were yellow and seemed sightless, but her gaze locked on Sarasim, telling her such was not the case.

"Greetings... Sarasim," she hissed out, her voice as raspy as sandpaper. It grated on Sarasim's nerves, but what truly chilled her was the fact that the creature _knew her name_. Could she read another's mind with her magic? she wondered idly. She was certainly powerful enough.

A bitter smile twisted the cracked lips of the crone. "You needn't fear me probing your thoughts, warrior," she said, evidently doing just that. "Krall spoke often of you... he coveted more than just glory and power, you know. Had my powers been up to the task, he would have asked me for you as well."

Sarasim felt another shudder ripple up her spine, but this was from disgust, not the cold. "Krall is dead now, witch. You have no one left to serve."

"Mmm," the Witch replied with a nod of her head. "Very true. But you seek me out, because of my power. You wish for something as well, don't you?"

"Information first," replied Sarasim darkly, taking a step back. "I've heard all about you and your bargains, Witch. The 'prices' for your power."

The old woman laughed at that, and her laugh was horrible to hear, like a raven choking. She spread wide her robed arms and smiled at Sarasim. "You may ask what questions you like, child... some carry no price... others... well... you shall see..."

Sarasim nodded, having expected as such. And she was no stranger to negotiating either. Ruling a people meant more than sword-rattling and head-bashing, after all.

"Do you know why I am here?" she started with.

"No," replied the witch, startling Sarasim. "But I can easily guess your reasons," she added, her malevolent gaze drifting down from the warrior-maiden's blue eyes to the talisman around her neck. Instinctively, her free hand clapped over it. "You seek your warrior... the one _I_ brought here."

"At Krall's behest."

"Krall asked for the strength to defeat the monsters I unleashed upon your people," replied the witch. "It is not always _I_ who decide the price of my magic," she added, seeing Sarasim's confused look. "Fate also determines the price."

"I wish to know where he is... how to reach him," Sarasim said after digesting that piece of information. Bargaining might be harder than she thought, if even the Witch couldn't deliver a set price.

"I have the means," the Witch replied enigmatically, drawing herself up to her full height and folding her arms. "Have you what is required?"

"I have little of value," replied Sarasim carefully, which was true enough. She'd left almost everything behind to undertake this journey. "That which I value... is what I seek... how can I pay you with what I wish to obtain?" she asked.

The Witch cackled again at this, throwing back her head and letting her laughter echo throughout the cave. "A wise answer," she replied, a smile gracing her lips once more. "To that, a simple price to pay... and I shall reunite you with your warrior."

"Name it."

"To grant you what your heart desires... I would have you fulfill _my_ heart's desire," replied the Witch, with a wicked grin.

"... you... wish for... money? Power?" asked Sarasim, the last very nearly making her draw her sword from its sheath. But the Witch shook her head, and her hand remained where it was.

"Look around you... what use have I for money? Power? I have more at my _fingertips_ than I care for, and even my power has a price," she said bitterly.

"What _do_ you want then?" spat Sarasim, angry with her riddles and doublespeak.

"... to rest," replied Witch, closing her eyes a moment and giving a weary sigh. "To sleep once more. Krall awoke me from my slumber, and only he could send me back... with him gone, I require another."

The two women locked eyes, yellow and blue orbs gazing at one another as they took each other's measure and found what the other needed, they possessed.

"Deal."

* * *

The wind picked up suddenly, very nearly knocking Sarasim over as she drew up her fur-lined cloak and used it to shield herself from the worst of it, grimly pressing on across the desolate wasteland.

_"My power is not such that it will pluck you from time, as I did with the warrior," the Witch had said. "But I know of a place where time lies still, while the world around it passes it by. Go to this place, and drink this elixir I have prepared. Do so, and you shall sleep... and awaken in the time of your warrior. The rest is up to him."_

So had been the Witch's instructions. And thus, with the ceremony completed, Sarasim had put her to rest. She would threaten no one else with her sorcery and her prices. She had obtained her own heart's desire, to sleep untroubled by the changing of the world.

Very soon Sarasim would too. But she did not intend to slumber forever as the Witch did. She wanted to awaken... when the time was right. She admitted to having only a vague understanding of the Witch's talk of time and space, and knew only to find her way to Cyborg's home, to Cyborg himself, she would need to put her trust in the Witch's magic.

So she traveled, day and night, to the place the Witch had spoken of. An unspoken price here as well, for it was a long and hard journey, many miles. Always with the rising sun at her right and the setting sun at her left, always in the same direction, across whatever terrain barred her way.

The elixir lay in a pouch at her side. Only a dozen or so drops in a small water pouch. She was very careful not to let any harm come to it.

The terrain was not her only trouble for the long journey. It began to grow colder as well, the further she traveled. Not just with the ending of summer, but the climate as well. Soon she was trudging through snowy mountain peaks and icy plains in the self-made furs of a bear and some wolves. Still she trudged on.

Finally, she came to her destination. The Witch had described it perfectly for her. A crevice in the ice, split into three parts like a bolt of lightning. There could be no two others like it anywhere in the world.

And so she descended into the depths of the earth, and vanished from the eyes of the world, never to be seen again... for nearly five millennia.

* * *

At the north pole their existed a little known cave in the Arctic Circle. Only a few people on Earth were aware of it's existence, which was fortunate, for it was a natural wonder of the world, and were the general population aware of it, it may have very well been destroyed years ago.

This cave was unique in that it led into an underground cavern, miles beneath the surface of the Earth. And it was this cavern in truth, that was the real mystery and wonder. It was a place that time had truly forgotten, a self-contained ecosystem that remembered the days when Earth had seen the mighty thunder lizards roam it's surface, long before man had ever come to walk in their place. How it was possible for such an ecosystem to exist, none could say. Perhaps heat from volcanic fissures below the surface warmed the cave enough to allow the growth of plant-life, and the reflection of such fissures off the crystal-like ceiling overhead simulated sunlight. And perhaps, just perhaps, there was magic at work, that made it all possible. It was one of the many great mysteries of our world.

Dinosaurs lived down here, as did all manner of exotic plants and animals both big and small. But of primary interest were it's two unique residents, metahumans with strange powers and honorary Titans.

Our first was Gnarrk, a caveman from an era long gone, frozen in ice and revived centuries after his old life, now content to live in the underworld, away from the modern world that confused and terrified him. And the second was a young girl named Kole with the power of crystal within her very body, who had quit the same modern world that sought her for her powers, eking out a simpler existence with her best of friends, Gnarrk.

Today, the two were exploring a recent change in their underground home. A shift in the blocks of ice above their heads (the result of global warming melting the arctic circle, though they did not know it) had caused a cave-in to the southeast of their tree home. Out of curiosity, the two had gone to investigate it and see what they could find.

What they had found had amazed them. And this was from two young people who had fought off supervillains and regularly hunted long-extinct velociraptors for their dinner.

Immediately, Kole had done what she felt best under the circumstances... she called her friends, the Teen Titans. Hearing that something odd was going on in the Arctic Circle, they had promised to send aid as soon as they were able. That aid arrived later that very same day in the form of a teleporting sorceress in a blue cloak, the enigmatic Raven.

"Gnarrk!" greeted the cave-man of the same name politely, though he did so safely behind the much smaller form of Kole. Technology and magic alike both continued to scare him.

"Hi Raven," said Kole, the bubbly, pink-haired girl. Not afraid in the least, she made her way up to shake Raven's hand. Raven nodded her head to the greetings as she returned the shake, shrugging off her hood.

"Nice to see you again, Kole... Gnarrk," she replied, her voice flat and emotionless as always. She could have been sincere, probably was, but it was always hard to tell with Raven.

"We're glad you came, this is really something you need to see. You especially Raven," said Kole, leading the way as the merry threesome headed off on the trail towards their discovery.

"Gnarrk," agreed the caveman with a nod as he knuckled his way along after the two girls.

"I fail to see what it could possibly be of any interest to..." said Raven, and then her voice caught in her throat as they reached their destination. The cave-in from earlier hadn't really collapsed onto anything, it had shifted aside to _reveal_ something. A something that Raven instantly recognized, though she'd only seen it once before, in one of her books.

"My goodness," she swore.

* * *

"Yeah Bee take care... no really, you're welcome... yeah I had fun too... alright, later..."

A click, and the phone was hung-up. Or rather, turned off, since it was built into his left arm and short of removing the appendage it was impossible to get rid of.

Natural part of being unnatural.

Still, it made driving a lot easier. Which was fortunate, since Bumblebee had chosen to call him in the middle of Jump City's busy rush hour, and the streets were overflowing with vehicles of every shape and size. Drivers weren't too pleasant either, and more than once Cyborg had been cut off by some angry worker hoping to get home and unwind. Ah well... once he got to the bay he could make much better time. Not many cars had built in rockets, after all, like the T-Car.

It had been an eventful week for Cyborg, who'd been spending some time in Steel City with the East Titans, helping upgrade their security systems, though that had mostly been a pretense. Since things had quieted down in recent years, it had been easier for the core five Titans to relax and pursue more leisurely activities. For Cyborg, that meant seeing his friends in Titans East. Speedy, Aqualad, Mas y Menos, and especially Bumblebee.

He'd even been introduced to a new member of the team this time around, the horn-blowing Herald.

Bumblebee's boyfriend.

Easy-going and friendly guy that Cyborg was, when he'd been introduced, he'd reached right up and shook the man's hand when they'd met. He'd been alright, in his own way. He was a shy, quiet sort, but that made him perfect for the louder and more confident Bumblebee to boss him around. No outsider could possibly be confused as to who wore the pants in _that_ relationship.

He was happy for both of them.

At least, that's what he'd told them, he mused as he parked the T-Car in the underground garage of Titan's Tower, alongside the R-Cycle and the B-Ped (which was still in need of repairs, he noted). And perhaps he really was happy for them. They deserved one another. And after all, Cyborg and Bumblebee had never worked out quite well in _that_ way. For one thing, they were too competitive, too bossy with each other, too stubborn. They'd gone out on a couple of dates but those had always ended awkwardly. And Cyborg suspected he knew why.

Sarasim.

She'd been his first real love. Jinx had been a harmless crush (well, not quite that harmless maybe) and Bumblebee was just a friend, but he'd never felt as strong as he did about anyone than he did about the barbarian Queen from five thousand years ago.

Another sigh. Artificial lungs had no need for oxygen the way a full human's did, but the effect was the same. A gesture of sadness. Sarasim was gone... had been gone for millennia. Even though they'd won the battle against Krall, it hadn't made any difference. Not really. He'd been glad they'd won, of course, good triumphing over evil and all, but sometimes he wondered what was the point?

"Does anything we do really matter?" he wondered aloud as he walked down the corridors towards his room. "Do we really make a difference with what we do? Or in the end, when all is said and done, is it all for nothing?"

"Gee," came a deadpan response from a side-corridor. "And here I thought I was the depressing one."

"Hey Raven," said Cyborg as he passed her by, barely giving her a nod to acknowledge her presence. "How'd things go with Kole and Narrk?"

"GN-arrk," she corrected him. "And it was... well... interesting actually. Uhm... Cyborg..."

"Yeah?" he said, coming to a complete stop and turning to face her. Raven looked as if she had something important to say. And with Raven, that could range anywhere from they were out of herbal tea to it was the end of the world. Cyborg braced himself.

"We... well... we have a guest. It's someone I think you'd like to meet."

"Oh, who? Fixit? Spike?" he asked, rattling off the two best guesses he could think off of the top of his head. Neither dropped by frequently, but most of Cyborg's close friends could be counted on both hands... with fingers to spare. And all of Titan's East were still back in Steel City.

"They're waiting in your room," said Raven, in an uncharacteristically rushed voice, grabbing a hold of Cyborg's arm and hauling him down the corridor after her. "I really think you'll want to meet them. Right. _Now_," she added with emphasis.

Cyborg quirked his one remaining eyebrow. This was getting weirder and weirder by the minute. And it got even weirder when Raven didn't follow him into his room to introduce their guest, instead letting the door seal shut with him inside and her outside. Really, with Raven you got an off day here and there but this was beyond weird.

"Hello?" he said. The room was dark, he hadn't bothered to power-up the lights yet. However, his infra-red optic sensor showed him that a warm body, humanoid, was standing just beside his work station. Whoever it was, they jumped when they heard his voice, turning to face him.

"Cyborg?" came the voice. A voice he recognized instantly. A voice he needed no machinery in his skull to tell him exactly matched the pitch of _hers_. But... no... it was impossible. Yet... he'd seen the impossible before. Could he dare to hope?

"... Sarasim?"

Click. The lights came on.

There she stood, a radiant vision of beauty and elegance, clad only in a simple loincloth that clung to her curvy figure. Sky blue eyes, jet-black hair, richly tanned skin... she hadn't even aged all that much. She looked almost the exact same as when Cyborg had last seen her.

"Sarasim?" he asked again, instantly running a self-diagnostic to see if his core processor wasn't breaking down.

Immediately it was cancelled as she stretched out a hand, placing it lightly on his right cheek, the one still composed of human flesh. And he _felt_ her. Not registered a touch, the way the rest of his body did, but really _felt_ her.

She was real enough for him.

* * *

Raven, having lingered outside of Cyborg's room long enough to ensure everything was alright, immediately made her way to the living room. She did not need to be an empathy to sense that both Cyborg and his guest were going to want to be left alone for a long, long while.

Which means she had to break the news to the rest of the Tower's residents that they'd just gotten a new guest. So it was she arrived, book in hand, in the living room of Titan's Tower. And because of Gnarrk and Kole's earlier alert, the Titans quickly dropped what activities they were doing so they could listen to her report.

"What'd you find, Raven?" asked Robin, all business-like as usual.

"It's... complicated," replied Raven after a moment, sitting down on the couch. "Suffice to say Titan's Tower is going to have a... a guest of sorts for a while."

"Really? Who? Where? Is she pretty?" asked Beastboy, plopping down onto the couch beside Raven, asking the last question with an exaggerated waggle of his eyebrows. Inwardly, Raven smirked, though outwardly she grimaced. Sometimes she wondered about that boy.

"I don't know her name, she's in Cyborg's room now, and I'm fairly sure she's spoken for..." remarked Raven, answering his questions in rapid fire, just as he'd asked them. Long years of living with Beastboy had kept her wits sharp, if nothing else.

Sensing the other Titans wanted some elaboration, Raven laid the book down on the coffee table before them. With a quick gesture the book's pages glowed black and obediently flipped open to the correct page.

It depicted a victorious battle of armored warriors, triumphant over a scaly-green giant, who now lay under the boot of a warrior-princess with sword upraised.

"That," said Raven, tapping the image of the girl, "Is who Cyborg's guest is."

Beastboy managed to neatly sum up the collective Titan's thoughts in a single, short phrase.

"Dude...!"

* * *

"It's... just so amazing you're here..." said Cyborg. "I... I didn't even know what'd happened to you."

Sarasim smiled gently. "As was the case with me. You vanished as mysteriously as you appeared, Cyborg. I saw the dark hand pluck you out of the battle... in fact at first I feared it was another of Krall's tricks," she added with a frown.

Cyborg chuckled to himself at that, shaking his head. "Nah... Raven was just... well... she tells me she wasn't able to be delicate about it. Locking onto my position across five millennia and yanking me back to the present..."

His voice deliberately trailed off, realizing he was wandering into technical areas, to say nothing of magical areas, that Sarasim would have no understanding of.

"... I'm sorry I wasn't there," he finally managed, settling for the short and bitter of it.

Again, that gentle smile came, and she rested a hand lightly on his mechanized shoulder. "You were there when it mattered, Cyborg. Without you, we might have lost the battle far sooner... but instead we were victorious, and no small part of that we owe to you and your courage."

"That means a lot," he said. "I... uhm... do you want anything to drink? You must've walked a long... I mean..."

Again, that gentle smile. She knew Cyborg was a man of action, not words, as was evident now, when he did not seem to know what to say. It did not matter to her. She knew and accepted it. Even liked that part of him.

"No, I am fine... I merely wish to sit and talk..."

He indicated the stainless steel table he used for his night-cycle repairs. It wasn't much but Cyborg's room was somewhat lacking in ways of furniture. At least, suitable furniture for people who didn't have cybernetic enhancements. And that became abruptly apparent when Sarasim grimaced as she sat down on the steel bench.

"... it feels like ice," she remarked idly, tracing the side of it with her finger. "You truly rest upon this?"

"I... don't... don't feel cold as much, anymore," he replied reluctantly.

"Ah, because of your armor," she said, with sudden understanding.

"... yeah... because of that."

A momentary awkward silence descended upon them... Cyborg, who did not like to speak of all that he'd lost because of the accident so long ago, and Sarasim, who couldn't comprehend it entirely.

"So how did you get here?" asked Cyborg, changing subjects as he sat down beside her. "I wasn't aware of any temporal taxis you could've hailed."

She laughed softly at that. She didn't understand the joke, but she did vaguely recognize it _as_ a joke from his body-language and tone of voice. "It is... a long tale," she replied.

"I got time. And if I don't, I'll _make_ time," he added emphatically, placing his hand over hers gently.

She smiled, and the tale poured forth from her lips, as she recounted all that had passed since the Great Battle, the defeat of Krall and his monsters, the empty months afterwards, the eventual decision to leave behind her people, the Witch, the journey north... and then finally, the end of her long journey. Where Raven, with her knowledge of mysticism, had figured out how to awaken her in Gnarrk and Kole's hidden underworld. Then Raven, recognizing her, had brought her to Titan's Tower.

"I have traveled many hundreds of leagues to find your home," she said as she finished with her tale. "To find you, my Cyborg," she added, more softly, her bright, sky-blue eyes gazing up into his, unflinching as they regard both the warm gray orb of humanity and cold red gaze of machinery. Most people could not look into Cyborg's other eye and not shudder, at least a little. Sarasim did not. She looked past his eyes... to his heart and soul.

Neither knew what they were doing, neither was really thinking... and perhaps that was for the best. They were letting emotions and the magic of the moment guide them, as Cyborg reached down and cupped Sarasim's slender chin. She tilted her head up, and he leaned forward. Their lips met... gently, simply, tenderly... and in that moment, both realized just how much they had missed the other... just how much their lives were... incomplete without each other. They were two halves of the same whole.

How long that kiss lasted, neither could tell.

And neither really cared all that much either.

* * *

**Author's Notes:  
**Freshened up and polished off the story a bit, since its an old favorite of mine.

Special thanks to Badger the Gnome (formerly known as Comet-Hime) for providing the story image used.


	2. Brave New World

A yawn, quickly stifled behind her hand, signaled an end to their talk quickly approaching, and Cyborg's internal chronometer informed him it was definitely time for him to seriously think about a re-charge. They'd been talking well into the early evening.

"Forgive me," she said. "I fear I am still weary from my travel..."

"That's fine," said Cyborg, slipping to his feet and offering her a hand up, ever the gentleman. "I doubt you'd want to sleep in here, it's not very comfortable... but I'm sure you can room with Starf-..."

_An unpleasant image sprang to mind, and he shivered._

"Er, I mean Rae-"

_An even more unpleasant image sprang to mind, and he shuddered._

"... on the couch," he settled on, grateful she wasn't from this era and wouldn't understand how insulting it was for someone to be sleeping on the couch. Especially someone he cared about. But having her sleep in the same room as him...

_... an image sprang to mind... and not an entirely unpleasant one either..._

... but that was firmly out of the question.

Sarasim nodded, accepting Cyborg's hand and allowing him to lead her down the corridor of Titan's Tower towards the living room. It was late, and most of the lights were on a dim setting to conserve power. Most of the other Titans were in bed by now.

The warrior maiden flinched as she saw the doors slide open before they'd reached them, her eyes darting back and forth to find who had opened them. Cyborg smiled, patting her shoulder gently. "It's alright," he said. "Doors open automatically here... in Titan's Tower, at least... had them installed a few years ago."

"They open on their own?" she asked curiously, examining the sides of the door, as if determined to find the invisible beings who moved them. Cyborg nodded, instead tapping a panel, near invisible, above the door.

"Sensors... this thing sees you coming, and the doors open automatically to let you in."

"Fascinating... truly, this is a wonderful world you live in," she said in breathless awe. Her gaze had been purely on Cyborg while they were in his room, but now, in the living room, it roamed freely over only the latest of technological marvels. The stove, the boombox, the television, the equalizer. Cyborg had, for the most part, built them all. He'd had a passion for technology, for a long time... still did, really. It helped when a good part of his anatomy had been replaced by the stuff. But even since he'd been to the past, he'd realized that technology, no matter what it could do, could never replace some things. And he'd have traded all the tech in Titan's Tower for a chance to see her again.

And now, here she was... her hand dangerously close to a particular shiny red button...

Cyborg's own hand snapped out and gently clasped around her wrist, stopping her. "Ah, you don't want to touch that," he said. "That's the alarm for Titan's Tower. Only supposed to touch it if there's an emergency."

She nodded thoughtfully, and he released her wrist gently. "I have much to learn," she remarked.

"Hey, you made electricity about two thousand years before it was discovered... you'll be fine here," he said with a chuckle.

She smiled at the compliment. "The blacksmith's work more than mine, I fear... I only showed him the one you had built... the... _prototype_..." she stumbled over the unfamiliar word, "... and he was able build the rest."

"Still, quite an accomplishment... "

"But nothing compared to the wonders of this world," she said, stretching out her arms to indicate the wide living room, stepping over towards the windows. "You live in a tower built higher than any building I have ever seen. I would almost fear to sleep in here, that I might accidentally fall to my doom," she said, indicating the ground of Titan's Isle far below.

"Well no need to worry about that," said Cyborg, tapping the thin glass. "State-of-the-art dura-glass. You couldn't break this if you tried," he remarked, then lightly encouraged her to touch the glass... she did so, frowning in puzzlement as her hand seemed to stop in mid-air.

"_State-of-the-art_," she repeated. "You use this word often... what does it mean?"

"Means it's the best we... well, mankind... has made up until this point," Cyborg replied after a moment's thought.

"I see," she said, frowning thoughtfully, still running her hand along the glass. It left faint streaks. "Like primitive only... the opposite..."

She felt his hand come to rest on her shoulder gently, and he guided her away from the window.

"You're not primitive, Sarasim..." he said, sensing how she was starting to feel, and completely regretting his words back in the past (literally). "You're just... uneducated, maybe. You don't know these things... but it doesn't mean you can't learn." He guided her over towards the sofa, which was a comfortable resting place for weary travelers and, thankfully, free of green fur. Beastboy must've avoided transforming into a mammal while on it today.

"I will begin learning tomorrow then," she said, nodding in self-conviction. She turned then to face him. "You will teach me?"

He smiled at that. Once, he'd thought he had all the answers, but during his trip to the past, _she_ had taught _him_ a thing or two.

"Get some sleep, Sarasim... I'll come and get you soon as the sun is up."

She nodded as she settled onto the very soft cushions. "Sleep well, Cyborg."

"Sweet Dreams, Sarasim."

* * *

Jump City slept peacefully that night, as did it's resident Titan's and guest. Their city was a peaceful one tonight, a semi-infrequent occurrence. But for now, the supervillains and thugs had left to find easier prey, or were laying in wait, fearful of the ever-present gaze of the Titan's from their tower in the bay.

Such was, unfortunately, not the same everywhere in the world.

Elsewhere, an Evil was stirring. An Evil that had been thought broken and defeated. But it had been an Evil that lay in wait for it's proper moment... to enact a most terrible revenge.

In the darkness, the Evil's eyes opened, and they burned like crimson fire.

"_Cy... borg_..."

* * *

Morning did not seem to come soon enough, but Sarasim was a warrior, accustomed to falling asleep and waking in an instant, as she was well rested by the time dawn's light began to filter into the living room. Not from the main windows, as the part of the Tower faced westward, towards the sparkling blue ocean and the sea beyond, but the dark sky was now gray, and soon it would be bright and beautiful when the sun arose. Sarasim's mood matched it completely, though she was waiting for Cyborg, not the sun.

When the doors slid open, she lifted her head and peered over the couch, expecting to see the silvery outline of her hero. Instead, she was surprised to see another. Not Raven either, for she had met her briefly in the cavern where she'd slept, but a young man, perhaps a year or two younger than she, with brightly colored tunic and cloak and spiky black hair. A strange black visor of cloth covered his eyes but seemed to cover very little else.

He halted abruptly upon seeing her, coming to a stop in the middle of the doorway.

"Oh... good morning," he said. "You must be Cyborg's guest."

"Sarasim," she introduced herself as she stood and bowed formally. He returned the gesture, though first his fist found it's way into his palm, and though he bowed, his eyes did not leave her, as if fully expecting her to attack at any moment. _So this one was a warrior as well_, she surmised. _Like Cyborg. Is this Tower a home to warriors_?

"Robin," he replied himself back, making his way past her with little further introductions made his way into the kitchen. With a seeming natural skill, he tossed up a pair of eggs, caught them, cracked them, let their contents fall into an iron pan and tossed the shells aside.

"Hope you're hungry," he said.

"Starved," she said, only just realizing that her last meal had been nearly a full day ago... and five millenia more. A ivory bear she'd hunted and slain just before she'd found the cavern the Witch had spoken of. Her stomach rumbled as she beheld quickly the small feast this young boy was preparing. Eggs, meat, milk, toast. He tossed ingredients back and forth seemingly to himself as if it was as natural as walking.

"Mmmm... I smell tofu bacon calling my name!"

Sarasim turned, startled, and then stifled a gasp as a -green- boy sprang past the doors that slid closed behind him. A purple and black uniform covered him completely from his neck all the way down to his toes, revealing only his face. But his features were distorted, his ears and canine teeth pointed. What was he? A boy or a beast? Instinctively she moved away from the counter, putting a little space between herself and him.

Her movement caused him to catch sight of her, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head as he got a good look at her.

"Dude... you're... you're that cave-lady friend of Cyborg's..." he said.

"Technically its closer to Bronze Age," remarked Robin from the kitchen, seemingly unconcerned by either Beastboy's appearance or Sarasim's reaction, flipping the metal pan and letting his food fly into the air, caught by a defend hand. "Not cave-woman. You're thinking about five million years earlier."

"Whatever man... still cool... I'm Beastboy," said the green stranger, thrusting out his hand towards her. She regarded it oddly, unaware of the particular custom.

"She probably doesn't know about shaking hands, Beastboy," Robin remarked again, equally casually. "I'd go with a bow if I were you."

"Oh, sorry," he said, bowing low before Sarasim. Relieved by a recognizable gesture, she returned it.

"I am Sarasim," she introduced herself. The green boy nodded, but with barely another word, he bounded up and over the kitchen counter and towards the white box that held the foodstuffs, rummaging around inside of it.

She made her way more slowly towards the counter, surprised to see an extra two plates of breakfast had already been set aside by the black-haired boy.

"You seem to know a great deal about me," she said cautiously, breaking the silence that had followed (if you didn't count the grunts and banging coming from the fridge, where Beastboy was searching for soy milk). "That I am... not accustomed to all of this."

"I've had to introduce someone to Earth life before," Robin replied, finishing his preparations and setting aside his own breakfast. "Not so different to introducing someone to modern customs. Dig in. Left plate's yours," he added, and with little further ado, began to eat.

Sarasim did as well, her hunger driving her beyond that point of politeness until she was devouring everything that lay on her plate. Without bothering to use the utensils beside it.

Cyborg arrived a short time after that, and joined them. Both Raven and Starfire had slept in, which wasn't too surprising. Normally Beastboy did too, but he'd gone to bed early last night. Breakfast finished, plates washed (introducing Sarasim to the wonders of the dishwasher), Sarasim and Cyborg were making their way down the corridors of Titan's Tower towards the garage, after she'd bid Beastboy and Robin a good morning.

"You have... interesting allies," she remarked as they walked along.

"I should've warned you about BeeBee... he's a little weird, but..."

"It is alright," she replied. "He is... different... but seems nice enough. He is a warrior as well?"

"Yeah, guess we all kinda are," remarked the mechanical man as they stepped into the elevator and keying in the appropriate floor. Sarasim's eyes widened as she felt the floor shift beneath her, but a quick glance at Cyborg confirmed she was in no danger, so she relaxed.

"You protect your village?" she asked. He nodded.

"Sorta, yeah... only it's a lot bigger than a village... it's a whole city. And sometimes we get called in to help people in other places too... anywhere there's evil, really."

"How very noble."

"Hey, we're just doing what we can..." The doors of the elevator slid open with a soft little ding. They had arrived in the Titan's underground parking garage.

If the kitchen had impressed Sarasim, the garage flat-out 'wow'-ed her. If only because of the sheer size of everything, from the T-Ship in it's locked down position, to the T-Car in all it's shining glory in the corner. It was here she allowed her natural curiosity to overcome her, reasoning that any real danger to her person, if any, Cyborg would warn her about. She had complete faith in her armored guardian.

"What manner of device... is this?" she asked, running a hand admiringly along the sleek side of the T-Car.

He smirked, proud of his 'baby' and his accomplishment in building it with his own two hands. "Think of it as a cart without horses," he said, patting the hood. "Runs on it's own."

"Amazing..."

Politely, he unlocked the passenger side door and popped it open for her. "Here... ladies first."

"Thank you," she replied, climbing into the car, though she crouched down still standing in the actual seat, again indicating her unfamiliarity with technology.

"Here... allow me," he said, gently grasping Sarasim's hips in his hands and guiding her, shifting her position until she was seated properly on the passenger's side of the car. It was only after she was properly settled the two of them seemed to realize what was going on, and Cyborg's still fleshy face turned crimson as he removed his hands and turned away politely, coughing. Sarasim, aware of his discomfort, seemed puzzled but assumed it was another 'modern' thing and didn't want to further embarrass Cyborg by questioning it.

Clearing his throat, Cyborg made his way around the other side of the car and hopped in, strapping himself into place. Mirroring his curious actions, and with a little verbal aid (he didn't want to accidentally touch her again) they were both strapped in and ready to go.

Ready being a relative term. Nothing could have prepared Sarasim for the experience of being in a solid metal vehicle moving faster than the winds (or so it seemed to her) with no apparent means of being drawn.

* * *

They'd cruised through the city for a while, as Cyborg allowed Sarasim the chance to view Jump City up close and personal. At first he was slightly worried she was getting an over-stimulation of modern life, fashion, technology, people, customs... but to his relief, her awe was being quickly replaced by vast curiosity. She didn't just accept what he told her, she absorbed it wholesale, anxious to learn more.

Their ultimate destination was the pizza joint where the Titan's normally hung out. He and his odd friends were such frequent customers even the out-of-time Sarasim likely wouldn't raise more than a few eyebrows. And they did still get that Heroes Only discount for saving the store from being destroyed on it's grand opening. To say nothing of saving it's owner.

Unfortunately, that idea was tossed out the window when a sound split the air. A very distinct sound.

Gunfire.

Cyborg slammed his foot down onto the brake, his right arm instinctively moving to halt Sarasim before she jerked forward into the seatbelt as the T-Car skidded to a halt, right outside of Jump City International Bank.

"Awww man, why today?" asked Cyborg with a groan.

"What is wrong?"

Realizing his arm was still pressed against Sarasim figure, Cyborg quickly moved it aside, pulled his vehicle to the side of the road and unstrapped himself, simultaneously switching off the T-Car. Fortunately, traffic was light today, and most had already come to a standstill with the gunfire. "Trouble... stay here..." he said, moving quickly out of the T-Car and leaving Sarasim behind.

He wasn't too worried about leaving her behind, she could handle herself, but he'd owe her an apology later.

For now, it was bad guy butt whoopin' time.

* * *

There were nine of them.

Dressed in black coats and masks, armed with semi-automatics and no doubt hoping to grab the money, jump into a getaway car, and be long gone before either the Titan's or the police could intercept them.

Today was not their lucky day.

Cyborg's metallic fist shattered the barricaded bank doors and sent them flying across the room. Behind their desks, the bank tellers and employees, already ducked down and hidden from the commotion of a robbery, hid further from the sudden commotion. The robbers, surprised and alarmed, and already on-edge with the thoughts of getting caught, responded predictably.

They opened fire.

The Mechanized Man just kept walking, the gunfire employed by the robbers were pelting him with tiny bullets, and he barely felt a thing as they bounced off his titanium steel skin. Kinda tickled, almost. Aware that while he was impervious to harm, ricochet could cause injury or worse to any of the innocent bystanders, so Cyborg needed to end this quickly.

Cyborg reared back his hand and dropped to one knee, slamming his fist down hard against the ground and forming a small earthquake, letting it ripple across the floor and knock the robbers clean off their feet. Most hit the ground or the wall and were knocked instantly unconscious. Cyborg took the weapons from those only dazed, and crushed them in his hands as if they were made of tinfoil.

One of the robbers pulled out a small handgun from the back of his jeans and emptied the clip trying to blow Cyborg away. He didn't even make a dent as Cyborg came towards him with the relentless, single-minded purpose of a machine. He reached out and crushed the barrel between his forefinger and thumb.

"You guys give up... right?"

A shrill screech jolted Cyborg out of his victorious mode and snapped his head up. Three of the robbers, previously unnoticed behind a nearby desk, had grabbed up a sack of cash and was running towards the exit. Cyborg, a good thirty feet away, wouldn't catch them in time.

Plus, if he left these guys here, they'd run for it too.

_Damnit_, he thought. He needed back-up. Belatedly he activated his Titan signal and looked for a means to restrain the remaining half-dozen criminals still inside the bank.

* * *

Fortunately, back-up was a lot closer than Titan's Tower or the police station.

As the hoodlums made their way out the bank doors and into the alleyway, they suddenly found his path obstructed by a figure hidden in the shadows. The one in front came skidding to a halt, money in one hand, gun in the other, while the other two nearly crashed into him.

"Hey... get the hell out of my way!"

The figure did not reply, and the robber suddenly became afraid. Whoever it was, they were hidden by the shadows, visibly only as an outline, and distinctly feminine. No guy had curves like that. Was it one of the Titans? That Raven girl was certainly scary enough, but it didn't seem like her.

"Listen lady, love to stay and chat, but I gotta bail, so kindly get the hell out of my way," he said, making his way forward, intent to shove her aside if she continued to get in his way, whoever she was.

The next thing he knew, he was lying flat on the ground with at least one loose tooth and a world full of hurt compressed down and spread across his face. His two comrades rushed forward, gunfire erupted in the alley, but the woman dodged aside and out of harm's way. A shapley leg swung low, knocking the feet out from underneath one of the thugs, and then was followed up by a tiny but powerful elbow that knocked the breath out of the next one. In barely a minute she'd taken each of them out.

"I suggest you stay down," said the strange woman. "I do not wish to harm you further."

The first robber evidently had other ideas, as his handgun hand shot up and, after identifying her as a female dog, he opened fire. Fortunately, he missed, his aim having gone wild. A swift and well-placed kick knocked the weapon clean out of his hands and then the same leg came down atop of him, right into his stomach, doubling him over in pain. Another quick punch came seemingly out of nowhere, and he slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"What of you two?" she asked his companions dangerously.

They shared a look, and quickly turned tail and fled.

Cyborg was just coming up to the mouth of the alley on the one-in-a-million chance he could track down and catch-up to the robbers, when two of them came barreling out towards him. He swung out his arms, clotheslining both of them and knocking them out cold. The last of the would-be escapees was tossed out of the alleyway to land at his feet. His gun followed shortly afterwards.

"What the...?"

And then she emerged from the shadows, with barely a lock of hair out of place or a bead of sweat on her despite her exertions. "Your land has a very strange money," remarked Sarasim, holding up a handful of stolen silver dollars before slipping them back into the bag and snapping it shut.

Damn. He knew Sarasim could fight... but...

Just damn.

By now a small crowd had gathered around the victorious Cyborg and Sarasim, many of whom were quietly nudging their neighbor and trading rumors and questions about the Titan's companion.

"Who's that with Cyborg?"

"Damn is she hot."

"Smokin'"

"And did she really stop those crooks all by herself?"

"Why's she wearing a toga?"

"Is she a new Titan?"

Painfully aware of the public's eye on them, Cyborg turned back to Sarasim, who was equally aware of the curious eyes being cast her way. It made her feel somewhat self-conscious. Realizing she was still holding onto the stolen goods, and assuming that was the reason they gawked at her, she handed them back to Cyborg, who accept it numbly.

"I... uh... thank you?" said Cyborg, after a moment's careful thought. Seemed his vocabulary processor and his swift tongue were both malfunctioning at the moment.

"Regardless of my time... or place... I am a warrior still, Cyborg," she said, hands on her hips defiantly. "I will not allow evil to take place in my home. And your home is now mine."

This seemed to invite a fresh way of speculation and chatter amongst the gathered crowd.

"Wow, she's so cool."

"Did she say she was out of time?"

"That explains the strange sense of fashion."

"Wonder what her powers are?"

"Awesome."

"She must be a Titan!"

Something in that last statement clicked in Cyborg's brain. Literally. An idea had sprung forth, and it seemed at first ludicrous... and then he wondered what the alternative was. If there was one. And then the idea, fully formed, unfolded in his mind, going off in myriad directions, and he realized at once it was a brilliant plan. It would start back at Titan's Tower.

But for now, Cyborg and Sarasim climbed back into the T-Car and continued on their way, leaving the crowd behind them. They still had a trip to the pizza place to finish. He stored the idea away in the back of his mind.

If there was one food Cyborg loved, apart from waffles, it was pizza. Thus, honor required, nay demanded, that he show Sarasim what it was like.

* * *

Fortunately, they'd managed to avoid too much off a following by the time they stopped off at the pizza place. The owner gave Sarasim a cursory glance, but Cyborg was fairly sure that was because she was a pretty young lady, not because of her clothes or mannerisms. After all, he saw and heard far stranger when Starfire placed her orders.

The two of them found their way outside. The owner, in a stroke of creative genius, had designed the place to resemble from the sky an actual slice of pizza, the two intersecting roads made for a V shape in the building's design, and the roof had been opened up for those wanting to eat outside. The roof was painting a yellow-gold not unlike cheese, and the circular tables and umbrellas above them were the red of pepperoni slices. It was a popular hangout place for the youth of Jump City.

Cyborg and Sarasim had grabbed the semi-secluded table at the very tip of the restaurant, giving them a fair amount of privacy from the other tables and the passerby below on the streets. To say nothing of the best possible view of the surrounding cityscape.

No surprise, pizza was an instant hit with Sarasim. She said she'd never tasted anything so enjoyable. Neither had Cyborg, for that matter. The pizzeria had outdone itself today.

"Truly, this is a wonderful world you live in," remarked Sarasim as she finished her meal, sucking lightly on the straw of her soda. Cyborg had shown her how. "Yet... I see it also a dangerous one," she added thoughtfully.

Cyborg knew instantly she referred to the bank robbers, and nodded his head.

"For everything you make that is wondrous, you make something that is dangerous..." she said thoughtfully, gazing out at the city. Only a day she'd been here and already she seemed to view it with a less naïve expression.

"Sometimes... sometimes those things are one and the same," remarked Cyborg, equally thoughtful. He couldn't help but recall the time that his own technology had nearly been used to destroy the city. "Just depend on who is using it."

"Good people and bad people... like Krall," she said thoughtfully.

"Yeah. Guess we're really not that different at all, are we?"

Humanity had advanced itself to the point where they could reach the moon, but in a lot of ways, they were still no different from Sarasim's people. They could crack the human genome but they were still no closer to bringing an end to war, disease, prejudice, or countless other problems. In a lot of ways, they had never truly grown as a species, and it was a discomforting thought.

Sarasim seemed to realize that her choice of conversation was leading them down a depressing road, and that was hardly intention. So she switched subjects, curious about something she'd heard earlier. "Cyborg... those... villagers we saw earlier..."

"Yeah?" The crowd... yeah, he definitely remembered them.

"They made a number of... strange remarks about me... can you clarify perhaps what they meant?"

"Sure," he replied. He suspected he knew what she was going to ask. She wanted to know what a Titan was.

_We're the Titans, Sarasim. Me, Raven, Robin, Beastboy and Starfire... you met most of us in Titan's Tower... we named it that because of us. We're like... heroes. Warriors. We watch over this exceedingly large steel village here, and protect it from monsters like Krall... although the ones we fight tend to be a bit bigger and a lot stronger. And a lot more evil._

"One said I was... warm... I believe. I am afraid I do not understand. It is summer unless I miss my guess, but I do not feel uncomfortable..."

"Warm...?" said Cyborg, scratching his metal forehead. "Oh hot... he said he thought you were..."

"Yes, that was it. What did he mean?" she asked innocently. Cyborg felt his own cheeks start to grow hot, but he managed to explain the slang to Sarasim.

"Oh..." she replied thoughtfully. "So... do you think I'm hot?"

_... ookay_, he thought._ This was something I hadn't expected._

* * *

A week passed.

Cyborg sat behind the control panel to the Titan's obstacle course. Thankfully, it was inactive, but it was an excellent vantage point for the combat raging below. Beastboy was perched on top of the console, and Raven and Starfire watched to one side.

Swords whistled through the air with deadly speed and accuracy, and the air was alive with the rapid clang-clang of metal on metal as each met it's opponent's and they parried and countered. Each blade worked as an extension of it's wielder, as much a part of them as their arms and legs, as they danced a deadly dance.

Sarasim's blade was heavy, required two hands to use, made of beaten iron and bronze with a mirror-like blade that was lovingly cared for and could've cleaved through rock if applied by someone who knew how to use it. And Sarasim certainly knew how to use it. Robin's blade was thinner, lighter, made of two specially designed birdarangs with a titanium blade, and a very useful tool in a number of situations.

The barbarian queen's sword swung upwards, and Robin shot up both arms with the sword held between to parry. Her blade snapped his in two, and proceeded downwards, halting only an inch from his shoulder. Had she carried through, she would have down serious damage to him.

"Not bad," he said, taking a moment to catch his breath. "Not bad at all." From Robin, this was high praise indeed. Especially since Sarasim had beaten him. True, he'd held back in a lot of aspects, not the least of which leaving his utility belt with Starfire. In a real life-or-death match, Sarasim would be the loser, and Robin the victor.

"Thank you," said Sarasim, shifting her sword to one hand and offering Robin a hand up. He accepted eagerly as the other Titans came cheering down to congratulate Sarasim and console Robin, as appropriate.

"Glorious new friend! Well done!" cried Starfire, engulfing Sarasim into a bone-crushing hug. The older warrior-woman grimaced but managed to pat Starfire on the back, returning the hug to some degree.

To say meeting an alien was shocking was an understatement, particularly when that alien was a vivacious Tamaranian teenager like Starfire. Raven's origins were difficult to understand as well, but she was calmer, quieter, and easier to talk to for Sarasim. With Starfire, who was a polar opposite, Sarasim kept her guard up always, half expecting the redheaded girl to explode for no reason around her.

Still, after a week, Sarasim was relaxing around her newfound friends. She'd learned to accept, if not fully understand, their unusual origins and quirks.

"Nicely done, Sarasim," said Cyborg, giving her a friendly slap on the back. One that would have floored her had she not been ready for it.

"Thank you," she replied, brushing back her hair, some of which had fallen loose.

"You're doing pretty good," added Robin. "There's not much more I can teach you, really. You had some good instructors."

"None as considerate as you," replied Sarasim politely, though she meant every word of it. Most of the warriors in her own time had been men, who had relied on strength and weight in their fighting styles, and had taught her as such. It had taken her time to adjust her smaller, lighter body to it. To find her own style, which generally relied on precision and speed over brute force. Robin was aware of this, and able to better teach her. Though, as he said, there wasn't much left to learn.

The Boy Wonder reached up and ruffled his hair in a self-conscious gesture. "Well I guess that's it for training today."

"Movie night!" hollared Beastboy, his green body already in mid-transformation into a dove as he flew upwards towards the Tower. Most of the other Titans followed quickly behind him, leaving Cyborg and Sarasim alone.

* * *

"So, movies?"

"I believe I will shower instead," said Sarasim, sheathing her sword back at her side. "I have... worked up quite a sweat?" she said, glancing at Cyborg. He nodded as they made their way into the Tower. Over the past few days, she'd managed to pick up a bit of modern slang. To say nothing of gotten used to most of the regular technology around Titan's Tower. She still didn't quite understand how most of it worked, but she understood how it was used, and for now, that was a start.

She'd moved into a guest room in the women's side of the Tower, and provided some basic furnishings. It wasn't much but she never asked for anything more than they could provide. A stand had been provided for her sword, where she rested it now, and then made her way towards the showers, casually stripping away her tunic as she did.

Cyborg politely turned his head. Modesty was still a concept they were working on. Fortunately it was only in her quarters, or in Cyborg's presence. She did not seem to mind him. And Cyborg couldn't exactly find the words to express why she shouldn't be strolling about in her birthday suit... since... well, a part of him enjoyed it. He _was_ a teenager after all.

"Uh, Sarasim?" he called out, his back still turned.

"Yes?" her voiced drifted out from the bathroom.

"Uh, when you're finished, can you come find me? I got somethin' you'll want to see..."

"Of course, soon as I am done," she replied, the door closing behind her. Cyborg visibly exhaled, relaxing now that she was gone. And yet in the exact same instant he started to miss her again.

It was a source of some confusion for Cyborg. And not for the first time, he wondered how exactly he felt for Sarasim as he strolled out of her room and down the corridor towards his own.

He knew he cared about her. That was a given, she was a friend and a good teammate (or she had been, in the past, they'd never tested that theory in the present) and he didn't want to see any harm come to her. He did find her attractive... and who wouldn't, she was gorgeous... but it wasn't quite a physical attraction. It was something purer than that.

The thought of life without her, now that she'd come back... it was more unbearable than he could've imagined. Being beaten to scrap by Atlas would've hurt a lot less. So maybe he did love her... a pure love, one bound by a spiritual connection rather than physical pleasure or attraction. He wasn't entirely sure.

But he was going to find out.

* * *

"Thank you for coming on such short notice... we understand things must be busy for your type."

"Eh, it was a slow night. Not a bank robber in sight. Not a babe in sight either."

A round of laugher ensued from the guard and the superhero as they walked down the dimly lit corridors of the dank, dark little prison.

They were heading down to the sub-levels, where the most notorious and dangerous criminals were kept. Supervillains, mostly. Really bad dudes. The cells were all specially designed down here with unique properties to hold whatever bad boy (or girl) would be required. And their destination was at the very last cell at the end of the corridor.

The superhero could feel glares on the back of his neck as he passed, but he ignored them all, his expression difficult to read behind a black mask stretched over his eyes. He did, however, toss a wink to the masked villain in one of the adjacent cells as he passed, earning a hiss from her. The name above her cell read 'Cheshire,' and she grinned eerily at him as he passed.

"We're not exactly sure yet what's going on but we thought it best if we had a Titan around when we checked out this cell," said the guard, taking a moment to find his keycard and sliding it through the door's lock. To describe it as impressive would be an understatement, it was locked up tighter than Fort Knox, with keycodes, retinal scans, and keycards. It would've taken a bit of effort to break in.

Or out.

With a final beep of recognition, the computer unlocked the door. The guard reached out and pulled the door open. What greeted them both on the other side was not a pleasant view at all.

Two guards lay on the floor, and their comrade quickly moved in to see if they were still alive. The hero's gaze, however, swept past them, seeing they were in capable hands. At the far end of the room lay a torture device-like contraption, designed to keep a humanoid of sorts completely restrained and locked down in position. At least that was it's original design. He highly doubted it would work now. It was mangled beyond repair, broken down into scrap and torn to pieces. Parts of metal lay strewn about the floor, and it sparked weakly.

Immediately his hand drifted down to the belt at his side, and he pulled out a circular communicator, flipping it open. "Speedy to Titan's East. We have a problem."

* * *

**Author's Notes:  
**And the plot thickens.


	3. Past, Present, Future

Sarasim wrung out her dark hair instead of making use of the towels hanging in her bathroom, dripping water all over the porcelain floor. With so much to remember these days, so many new ways of doing things, she often had a moment or two she slipped back into old habits without realizing it. So much to know in this world, she mused. So big, so fast, so loud. It was all a bit much to take in.

Idly, she wondered sometimes if she would ever get used to it.

And then, as always, her argument would always be that it didn't matter. As long as she was with Cyborg, everything would be fine. He would look after her always.

So it was that she donned a bathrobe, a simple garment, since it was dark and she intended to sleep soon (most of the other Titans would be up watching their movies... a concept that had initially intrigued her, but had grown too complex to follow). Plus, despite all this, she was a warrior still, and she preferred to follow a simple routine. Wake when it was bright, sleep when it was dark.

She called out to him from outside his door, letting it slide open as he welcomed her into his room. As always, he greeted her with a gentle hug. It was a welcome, soothing gesture, but for some reason they'd never gone further than that. They hadn't shared a kiss since they'd first been reunited. The former barbarian sensed that something was making Cyborg feel awkward around her, as he'd been when they'd first met in her own time. And she was forcibly reminded that, for all his power and courage, he was still underneath his armor little more than a young adult. Not that she was much older, mind you.

Sarasim would give him time. They had plenty of it now. They could afford to be patient.

He smiled, unaware of her inner thoughts, and with a dramatic flourish, gestured to the work station where her gift lay. Her blue eyes opened wide in surprise.

It was a suit of armor.

The gesture was not lost on her either. When Cyborg's strength had been failing him, she'd helped the Blacksmith make a suit of armor for him. It had helped during the battle against Krall and his minions. Now, he'd done the same for her. But it wasn't just any suit of armor he'd made for her, either.

It looked state-of-the-art.

The chestplate and armguards were a shade of silvery-white with a number of blue edges, and as she peered more closely, she confirmed her initial suspicion, apart from a few design differences, it perfectly resembled Cyborg's body armor. The new set was designed for a woman's form, however, and with great curiosity, she reached out and picked up one of the gauntlets. It was light as a feather, yet it felt more sturdy as stone. A pair of light-weight boots and leg-guards rested on the floor beside the work table.

"Amazing," she said in awe.

"Took me about three days to make," replied Cyborg, stepping past her. Neatly folded into the table was a skintight bodysuit, which he unfolded to show to her. Again, there was little doubt in her mind it was designed for her frame. "You wear this under it, the armor links directly to it. It's like wearing a second skin. One made of titanium reinforced steel," he added, handing her the suit.

Hesitantly, she accepted it. However, a thought had occurred to her after his remark of it being 'like a second skin.' Her mouth opened but he cut her off gently, obviously having foreseen her question.

"It comes off... it's not like mine," he said.

She nodded, her fears dispelled, and then began to test out the armor. A key life lesson she'd discovered was always to test your armor before you wore it into a real fight, lest you find some imperfection that, in the heat of battle, would lead to your demise.

The bodysuit came first, and it did indeed fit like a second skin, molding against her shapely frame. It was remarkably comfortable and cool, and idly Sarasim wondered if there were more such suits like these she could wear all the time. Cyborg assisted with the rest of the armor. She knew where most pieces went but he knew this particular suit better than she. It turned out there were a number of near-invisible latches (he called them nodes) where the armor seamlessly locked into place against the suit. He also showed her exactly what to press on the pieces to remove them.

At the very end, Sarasim stood before him a change woman, an armored warrior of the 21st century, the very best of both worlds.

Sleep long forgotten by both of them, Cyborg took the time to show her how the suit worked. It wasn't just stylish and durable, after all. He'd modified it after the blueprints for his very self, which is why it had taken longer than usual to complete. The suit were laced with an experimental nanotechnology that allowed the lightweight material to be as tough as Kevlar underneath the already durable pieces of armor. They had a side benefit of increasing one's strength while worn to roughly twice that of the individual's regular power. No where near the same as having pistons and gears for real muscles, like Cyborg, but it certainly would give Sarasim an edge in modern combat.

"Got a few more bells and whistles, but I'll show you those later," said Cyborg.

"Truly, a wondrous gift... my thanks, Cyborg," she said, resting a hand gently on his shoulder.

As it had, back in the past, her touch registered as pressure on the shoulder-plate, transmitting information to his brain, allowing him to analyze it. But the human part of his mind warmed to the touch, enjoying it. She was one of the first people who'd elected to touch him of her own free will, with no hesitation. Not even a partial revulsion for the machine-like components of his body, which instinctively made most humans shy away.

She didn't see him as a machine. She saw underneath his 'armor' to the man inside. The man he'd once been, and in some ways still was.

Caught up in the moment, cyborg and barbarian almost didn't notice they were about to kiss until their lips were mere inches apart...

... and a sudden siren made them both jump in surprise, eyes snapping open. The room was lit by a bright red light, and while Sarasim jumped about in surprise, Cyborg slammed an open palm against his forehead in frustration.

"Cyborg?" she asked, unable to understand his anger.

"Titan alert," he grumbled, irritated the moment had been ruined. "Better get to the living room, Robin will know what's up."

* * *

"Call from Titan's East," said Robin as the remaining Titans filed into the room. He stood in front of the main viewscreen, which the image of Aqualad filled. The oceanic wonder had a panicky look about him, black eyes darting like a minnow in the midst of a school of shark. Whatever it was, it was _big_.

"We got a breakout at Steel City Maximum Security Penitentiary," said Aqualad, once the others had arrived.

"Isn't that where you guys locked up...?" asked Raven, but she was cut off.

"That's who broke out," said Aqualad. A quick tap of the keyboard in front of him, and the image came up on the corner of the viewscreen, super-imposed over Aqualad's. An image that all the Titans present instantly identified, leaving only Sarasim in the dark about the new image's identity.

Half of his face, the left half, was metallic, the eye a glowing infrared orb. The right was a sickly pale skin with an equally crimson orb set deep into his skull, glowing with an inner fire. No hair graced his head any longer, the gray swept back features of his metal head were designed to resemble his old hair, though they more closely resembled devil horns. His expression was one of deep-set annoyance, his jaw line hard with a near-constant arrogance. The image of a horned skull was set onto his breastplate/chest, and a pair of wicked looking spikes graced his shoulders.

"Brother Blood," Cyborg intoned, infusing the word with equal parts disgust and anger.

"His armor..." spoke up Sarasim, for the first time since the conversation had began. "... it is like... yours..."

"Brother Blood stole his blueprints and made himself into a cheap copy-cyborg," said Beastboy, from his position perched on the couch. "Guys nuts if you ask me... nobody's good as the original," he added with a friendly slap on Cyborg's shoulder.

"Mas y Menos are prowling the city now on foot, and Bumblebee's in the air," explained Aqualad. "But she wanted us to bring in Cyborg... you knows Brother Blood better than we do... and there's a chance he could try and take over our minds again."

"I'll be there in a few hours," said Cyborg. "Count on it."

"Titan's East out," said Aqualad with a relieved smile, flicking another switch, causing the viewscreen to go dark.

"You gonna need backup?" asked Robin.

"Nah I can handle this, you guys watch over the city... I'll be back in a day... two at most..." he said, turning around, and almost started when he saw Sarasim there. Hearing about Blood, seeing his image, had dredged up a lot of dark memories in Cyborg. He'd almost forgotten about her.

"... Sarasim..."

"You... wish me to come?" she asked, though her tone suggested she already knew the answer. Something was different about Cyborg. She could sense it. His aura was darkly clouded.

He shook his head. "Way too dangerous. You've never faced anyone like Brother Blood before."

"I am unafraid," she replied, with little hesitation.

"Brother Blood isn't like those hoodlums you faced a week back," said Cyborg. "He's... he's a lot worse than Krall ever was," he settled on, giving her a comparison for ease reference. Unfortunately, this didn't deter her much, and she stared up at him unflinchingly, determined to have her way.

Finally, her head dropped down, a little saddened, but she trusted to his wisdom. She felt a gentle hand placed on her shoulder, and looked up to see Cyborg smiling. A strained smile, to be sure, but a welcome sight none-the-less.

"Hey, relax... I'll have Blood back behind bars in a day or two tops, and then I'll come right back here. I promise."

She nodded, relieved.

* * *

Cyborg packed and piled up what he needed (very little, mostly some spare power cells) into the T-Car down in the hangar and left with little fuss from Titan's Tower, heading east. Considering he could drive day and night with little trouble he'd be at Steel City in under a day.

Idly he glanced up at the rear-view mirror, watching as Sarasim waved farewell, her image growing smaller and smaller in the view until she vanished, and he had to turn his attention back to the road. He didn't want to leave her but he had to. Blood had to be stopped.

His thoughts turning away from the love of his life and towards his arch-nemesis, Cyborg idly wondered how exactly Brother Blood had managed to free himself. After his defeat in Steel City, he'd been a broken man, both literally and figuratively. Cyborg and the other Titans had been quick to make sure Blood stayed unconscious, not wishing to see him use his telepathy against them again. Or any of his other magic, for that matter.

True, they hadn't found a way to remove the cybernetic enhancements from Brother Blood. Like Cyborg, they sustained his life, replacing a vast majority of organs, not the least of which was the spinal column and heart. Take them away, and Blood would die. Not even Cyborg wanted that. So they'd had to settle on a makeshift solution.

Brother Blood had been sealed away inside of Steel City's Maximum Security Prison, at the very lowest levels, with state-of-the-art security and top notch personnel to guard him. Beyond that, his cell was designed to shackle him against the wall, preventing the use of his cybernetic strength. And he was kept on the lowest possible power setting, just barely enough to keep him alive. Power was fed to him through the prison system. Any unusual drains and it was shut off, and the instant he tried to escape, he'd have at most five minutes of reserve power before he shut down completely. He wouldn't make it out the prison doors.

Yet, somehow, he had.

Deciding the atmosphere of the T-Car was entirely too quiet (and even a little foreboding) Cyborg switched on the radio and fiddled around to find a music station he liked. He'd been trying to introduce Sarasim to modern rock music but she always said it gave her a headache to listen to at any decent volume. She had a thing for the quieter instrumental musics that none of the other Titans cared much for. Finding her some music CD's has been tough, but well worth it.

Allowing his thoughts to drift away from his mortal enemy and back towards his beautiful girlfriend, and he allowed a smile to reach his face.

Two days away wouldn't kill them. Not after waiting five thousand years. He'd be back in no time.

* * *

Sarasim watched as the T-Car drove out of the hangar and down the narrow underground tunnel that connected Titan's Isle to the main streets of Jump City. A shiver rippled down her frame as she felt the wind rustle through the underground hangar, realizing for seemingly the first time just how cold it was down here. Or perhaps it was her armor... it certainly felt very cold against her skin. With Cyborg around she'd not noticed, but now...

She needed a change.

About forty minutes later her armor was resting upstairs in her room, and she was outside of Titan's Tower, back in the tunic, belt and boots she'd brought with her from five thousands years in the past. She sat down on the rocky edge of the island with her arms around her knees and her gaze on the brilliant red-golden sun as it set on the horizon

She'd always loved this time of day most, when light and shadow were interplayed across the landscape, one no stronger than the other, one no better than the other. It was such a peaceful visage. To say nothing of the quiet that seemed to settle over the world. Even in this new time, in this strange place, people took time to notice the beauty of a sunset before the darkness set in and the city lit up with a new kind of life. The night life.

"Miss him already?"

Sarasim started but instantly relaxed as she recognized the voice, turning around only partially to confirm it by getting a glimpse of a midnight-blue cloak before turning back to her sunset gazing.

"Raven... you have a knack for startling people," Sarasim said by way of greetings.

An awkward silence reigned for a moment before Raven replied. "... yeah." With a soft swirl of her cloak, she sat down on a rock beside Sarasim, following her gaze out towards the setting sun. "Robin may be our resident early bird, but we seem to be the night owls."

Sarasim nodded. "My home was one where the sun's gaze was harsh and unyielding... a necessary trouble to endure if we hoped to farm, but I have always preferred the cool and quiet of the early evening. What of you?"

"Came out here to think... you're in my favorite sitting spot."

"Oh, my apologies, I will..."

"Joking."

A few soft, short chuckles were drawn from both girls, neither of whom was usually the most responsive when it came to jokes. Raven didn't care for them, and Sarasim more often than not didn't get them. It was an odd relationship they'd settled into. Raven had done her best to help Sarasim relate to the women of modern times, and Sarasim was to Raven like an older sister she'd never had. Starfire related to them both as the younger sister neither had ever had. Or wanted, at times. Like when she was a sugar binge.

"Yes, I miss him," said Sarasim, going back to their earlier conversation. "I am worried for his safety."

"Guy can bench press a bus," replied Raven quietly, as the sun slipped lower along the horizon, now only a faint sliver atop the ocean. "He'll be fine."

"It is not his strength or his courage that worry me, I know he has more than enough of both," she replied. "It... it is his nature. I... I am worried of what he may do in order to finish his foe."

"Sacrifice himself," surmised Raven. She recalled back to the day she'd yanked Cyborg back out of the past. When he'd arrived, he'd been on less than two percent power, battered, broken, and close to collapse, and yet if her portal had lasted half a second longer, he'd have hurled himself headfirst back into it.

"Yes... he was willing to give his life to save mine... to save my people. He barely knew us..."

"Big guy's got a big heart," said Raven, with a little smile on her face. "Always has." Sarasim quirked an eyebrow at the sudden change of tone in the voice of her companion, glancing over at Raven. The pale girl, noticing her gaze, quickly changed gears. "Not my type," she clarified. "He's always been more like a big brother."

"I see..." Sarasim smiled, slightly relieved, even though she was glad to know she was not the only woman who could appreciate the man beneath the armor. "You prefer the attentions of Beastboy then?" she asked innocently.

"**WHAT**?!"

* * *

On the opposite end of the country in cold, gloomy Steel City, the T-Car had finally reached it's destination. Forgoing directly stopping at Titan's Tower, Cyborg had met up with Titan's East at the docks, where they'd just finished their search.

So far, neither hair nor bolt found.

"Blood's hiding himself good this time around," quipped Bumblebee. "After that last fiasco six months ago. He certainly didn't get very far."

"Any other recent breakouts?" asked Cyborg. "Someone who might've freed Blood?"

"Psimon broke out last week, but we haven't heard of him in ages. But he doesn't give two damns about anyone but himself," replied Aqualad without hesitation, having anticipated this question.

"Did bring in Cheshire recently," Speedy remarked from where he leaned against a building. "Put up quite a fight," he added with a smirk. "Think I still got a scar or two."

"Ever think maybe she's not interested?" asked Herald dryly. Honestly, half the time he thought Cheshire pulled stunts just so Speedy would come and bring her in. And Speedy would patrol just on the off chance she was working.

"They were love taps," said Speedy with an arrogant smirk.

"Yeah, 'specially the kick to the head," quipped Bumblebee. "Actually improved his personality."

Speedy's grin faded, replaced by a scowl.

"But Brother Blood's not her speed either. She's a villain for hire, and you no Blood isn't big on paying his employees," replied Bumblebee to the original question, knowing firsthand what it was like to work for the demented headmaster.

Cyborg took a moment to process this information, and then decided to look at the mission from a new angle. Brother Blood, with a few alterations, was now essentially no different from Cyborg himself. If _he_ had just broken out of jail and was low on power, where would _he_ go?

"Is there a branch of STAR labs around here?" Cyborg asked.

"Si," replied Mas.

"Es muy grande!" added Menos, waving his arms in an animated fashion to give them an idea of just how big the place was. Both twins, near simultaneously, pointed it out.

"You serious Sparky...?" said Bumblebee with a thoughtful nod. "Blood would have a ton of trouble breaking into a place like that on low power. That ain't some convenience store, STAR labs are only the best security short of Luthor Corps."

"Blood probably _didn't_ break in," replied Cyborg. "Not on low power, no... but all he needs really is enough power to keep awake... and he can walk past any security guard on the planet."

"Telepathy," surmised Herald, with a thoughtful nod of his head. "So he's juicing up?"

"No doubt in my mind. Let's go pull the plug..." said Cyborg, slamming his fist into his open palm, with a small metallic thunderclap ringing in the area.

* * *

The next day seemed to come and pass by quickly, and before Sarasim knew it, it was already mid-afternoon and combat practice was over. She'd just had her first test run in the cybernetic armor Cyborg had given her, under the watchful eye of Robin and up against some modified combat drones (one of Slade's old designs).

She'd edged out Beastboy's best time by a good three seconds. Although that wasn't something considering his time was at least twice that of the second worst Titan's score.

"Not bad... that's some good armor," remarked Robin.

A resulting crash from one of the drones falling to pieces seemed to be in agreement. Sarasim smiled, brushing her hair back behind her ear. "Thank you. It is... incredible. I have never felt such power."

Robin nodded, fairly accustomed to this sort of response. Metahumans and the like were common enough in the world. But there were also those who gained their power from an external source. A weapon, a bit of armor, even something as innocuous as a ring. Personally, he didn't care for it, to rely so completely on a single thing other than yourself. One reason he, and his mentor, had never used anything of the sort unless the situation required it.

Still, seeing Sarasim so happy could make even him relax a little.

"Just remember that armor won't run forever," he remarked as she climbed up onto the observation platform alongside him. "Power cells last a day at most."

"I understand," she replied. "I am... aware of my limits."

"Dunno about that," he replied with a smirk. "You're still learning... few more days of training like this and I'd put good odds on you in a fight with Cyborg."

She chuckled at that. "Coins wasted," she replied. "I would hold back... I could never hurt Cyborg," she added, holding out her hands and carefully grabbing the ends of her gauntlets, pushing down on the near-invisible buttons on both sides. They were designed so that they had to be removed simultaneously, so that nobody could simply rip them off in the heat of battle. She shrugged them off, placing them under her arms so she could flex her fingertips freely.

"And he'd never hurt you."

Now to that, she could only smile. "True."

"Robin!"

Titan and honorary guest's heads snapped up as Starfire dropped down swiftly beside them, her face full of worry. Robin's demeanor instantly changed from fun to serious, and Sarasim's very nearly followed suit, though she switched from carefree to worried.

Starfire's expression foretold bad news.

"Starfire... what is it?" asked Robin.

"It is Titan's East... we received word from them. Something has gone wrong in the City of Steel."

Rather amazing that a boy who trained diligently nearly all his life and a girl who could fly at supersonic speeds made it upstairs to the living room far behind a barbarian queen from the past.

* * *

"... STAR labs already trashed... went back to Titan's Tower for a break... security codes hacked... took us out too fast... Blood... Cyborg...!"

The image crackled again with static. Aqualad was using the Titan's communicator, but it wasn't his. Only Aqualad's and Tramm's had ever been adapted for underwater use, specially made waterproof. But Aqualad had lost his and had to swipe Meno's before he'd leapt out of the Tower and into the bay around Steel City to avoid capture.

"Who? Who took you out? How'd they hack into Titan's Tower?" asked Robin.

"No idea... lots of 'em... some of those Brotherhood guys..."

"Narrows down the list," deadpanned Raven. Most every villain the Titans had ever fought, and even some they hadn't, had been part of the Brotherhood of Evil.

"... they took out Cyborg... Blood's got him now... Brother Blood's taken the Tower..."

Sarasim felt her breath freeze in her throat in a silent gasp, her worst fears realized. Cyborg. Captured. Possibly even... no. She didn't even want to think about that possibility. It was too awful a thought to take root in her mind. Absent-mindedly she clutched the medallion at her neck, the piece of Cyborgs armor she always carried with her.

"... oh god they're coming... too many... send back-up... we need... aaaaaghh..."

The line went dead, the screen was filled with nothing but static. Robin stared impassively at it a moment before he shut it off. "Everyone get down to the bay, we'll take the T-Ship," he snapped, immediately filling the void of confusion with discipline and orders. The gathered young heroes turned as one to make their way to the door, slipping into their accustomed roles.

They all, simultaneously, came to a dead-stop when they saw Sarasim standing between them and the exit.

"I am coming as well," she said, the tone of her voice brooking no argument.

"Sarasim..."

She cut Robin off. "No. I am not some child, to be coddled and protected. I am a warrior. Yes, I admit I am not accustomed the evils of this world... it's dangers. But I am not afraid."

Sarasim's gaze swept over each and every other Titan there and, as one, they saw in her what they sometimes saw in themselves. A desire to do the right thing. Had she stopped then and there, she would've already won them over, but the next thing she said completely sealed the deal with no chance of them arguing further.

"And the man I care for is in danger. I cannot sit idly by."

Robin nodded, then turned to Starfire. "Prep Cyborg's usual place. Sarasim can fly in the rear segment." The Tamaranian girl nodded, and again the Titans were off, heading down the hangar and off towards Steel City to save Cyborg and Titan's East.

Sarasim's misstep came only briefly.

"Fly?" she asked nervously.

* * *

Cyborg was stirred slowly, coming back to consciousness at his systems booted up, but he definitely wasn't enjoying it. His pain-receptors were working in overdrive, and a cursory inspection of his damage report file was not promising.

"Ah... awake at last."

Slowly, reluctantly, he opened his eyes.

And stared fully into the face of madness.

Brother Blood stood before him. Powerful, strong, triumphant. A wide grin was stretched across his face as he regarded Cyborg, a hand idly reached up to examine the side of his head, as if hoping to probe the mysteries therein.

Where they were was easy enough to guess. STAR Labs was high tech but this place also had a distinct signature built into every wall, every room, down to every single power cable. Cyborg should know, he was the one who put it together. Cyborg was strapped up against the far wall in some heavy-duty restraints on his arms, shoulders, chest, wrists, ankles and even his legs for good measure. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"How...?"

"You may not study after our fights, Cyborg, but I do my homework... although this time I suppose I used something of a cheat sheat," replied Blood cryptically, his grin growing wider.

"Access code override."

"Built into the Tower as a last resort in case of the... unforeseen. And conveniently something you forgot when I was last dragged away to prison. Still using the same numbers, I see. 292674. You really may want to think about changing it to something less obvious."

Cyborg frowned darkly, biting back a caustic retort. It'd do no good to him here. Instead, he needed information. "Nice friends you're keeping of late."

"Ah yes, my students... very gifted, all of them, really... but you always were my prize pupil, even if you did have a discipline problem."

"I quit your school," said Cyborg. "And you got fired for being a lousy headmaster..."

His reply was cut off by a swift blow to the head, and Cyborg coughed, fairly certain had he much blood left his body he would've spat some out. As it was, he think there was a dent in his jaw-plate. Brother Blood's expression had gone from a maniacal grin to one of extreme annoyance in mere seconds.

"I think we're done with high school metaphors for the time being, don't you, Cyborg, old friend...?" he said, a tic showing beneath his still human eye. His words were strained too. Blood was clearly over the edge, and that made Cyborg nervous. Nothing was more dangerous than a person who'd lost sense of reality.

Mod was a prime example of that. Who else enjoyed self-stylizing themselves with the name 'Mad'?

"How did you break out of jail?" asked Cyborg. _Gotta keep Blood talking_, he thought. _Stall him_. "That restraining system was..."

"State-of-the-art?" interrupted Blood mockingly, lightly flicking a finger against one of the restraints on Cyborg's arm. "Yes, it was... as yours is now. Certainly does keep the body controlled... even on full power. On barely enough to keep alive, well... you certainly had me, didn't you?"

Blood lashed out with his flaming claws almost without warning, but missed Cyborg's head on purpose, raking them along the steel behind him. His expression was one of barely restrained fury.

"But... then again I have some... unique features that you could never hope to possess..."

"Telepathy."

"Got it in one. Even minimum power is enough to keep my mind active and alive... one prison guard feeds me a protein paste to keep my body alive, much as you do... always accompanied by two others. It was... a simple matter to get him to accidentally spill the water that washes it down..."

"... on the power cables..."

"... shorting out the machine," said Blood with a nod. "Enough so I could break free. Two guards were no obstacle, and the third... well... this is what I learned from my last escape."

Now to that, Cyborg was stumped. Fortunately, Blood was the gloating type, and gladly unveiled his plans for all the world to hear. How many spy films had Cyborg seen just like this? All Blood needed was a hulking henchmen with some prosthetic iron fillings.

"On reserve power, I can last for a good long while... just enough power to keep myself awake, though not move... of course, how far do I have to go, if I have someone to do the work for me?"

"The guard... he carried you?"

"Sharp as ever. But no... set loose some acquaintances from down the cellblock... they carried me to STAR labs... you know the rest."

Boy did he ever.

STAR labs had been a disaster. They'd expected only to find Brother Blood and maybe a few mind-controlled scientists, possibly some security guards. Titan's East plus Cyborg should've been able to defeat Brother Blood, but there had been another factor in the equation. A number of supervillains Blood had freed. And while he respected each and every member of Titan's East, they hadn't been at the superhero thing nearly as long as the original Titans. They were overpowered and outmatched. Only Aqualad had escaped, down a sewer pipe, before Cyborg was knocked unconscious.

"Even if you took down Titan's East, the Titans West will come for me," said Cyborg. _So will Sarasim_, he realized with a start. He wasn't sure if that comforted him or worried him. "We got allies now. You're out of your league."

"Titan's East are no match for my students... they're being detained elsewhere right now... I highly doubt the West group are a threat either. They will fall... and be my students eventually as well. Unlike you... they do not have the power to resist me."

"They'll never join you," Cyborg spat venomously, earning himself another cuff upside the head.

Calmly, coolly, Blood flexed his metallic claws. "I think it's time we got started," he said, turning away from Cyborg. With Blood no longer encompassing his entire view, he could see specifically he was down in the basement of Titan's Tower, an unused storage room. It been cleaned out completely, and only Blood and Cyborg was there. A number of crates containing supplies and equipment were resting on shelves high above them.

Worse, he saw a tray lay before them, and Blood was surveying a vast array of rather dangerous looking tools. Doctor's scalpels and mechanic's wrenches. Their intent was clear, but Brother Blood felt a need, a perverse joy, in telling Cyborg exactly what he was going to do.

"It's time to take a proper look at what makes you tick, Cyborg... inside and out, human and machine. I only got... only got half of the picture before," he added, with a short, voiceless chuckle. Cyborg would've started sweating if he was more organic. Blood had lost it. "Only half the picture, yes... well, now it's time to see it all... so let's just... just take you apart then, shall we? Don't worry, I'm going to shut off your voice processor... this isn't going to hurt one little bit..."

Cyborg's mouth hung open, but he couldn't use it, he was paralyzed from the neck up as Brother Blood tweaked one of the switches along his neck, shutting off his voice. Which might have been a good thing, considering he felt like he was about to start screaming.

Blood held a screwdriver in one hand, a syringe in the other. He was about to get started.

* * *

**Author's Notes:  
**Brother Blood was chosen as the main villain of the story to fit with the underlying theme of armor and technology, and how in the wrong hands it could be abused.


	4. Old Ways are the Best Ways

High above, in the upper levels of Titan's Tower, a meeting was taking place at the circular table aptly designed for just that purpose in mind. However, normally, it was when the six members of Titan's East would meet to discuss the latest criminal breakout or crime spree. Right now, it was occupied by five low-life criminals and being used for a not-so-friendly game of poker.

"Six bucks."

"Mammoth you forgot to ante up."

"Oh, sorry."

"Yeeha! Numerous trumps you all again, three of a kind!"

"Whoowhee! Lookit that!"

"Nicely done, Billy."

"Thank you Billy."

"Hehehe, you cludgemunchers are out of your league... check it out...!"

"..."

"No way!"

"Hey he's cheating!"

"Am not!"

"How do you have four aces when **_I_** have an ace then?"

"I... uh..."

"..."

"He -is- cheating!"

"Sonovamonkey!"

"I'm going to blind you, you traitor!"

Fortunately before things could come to blows between the teenaged supervillains, an explosion rocked the entire Tower, sending the table, all the cards (including no less than _seven_ aces) and all the chips, as well as all five members of the HIVE Five crashing down to the ground. As one, there was a moment of confusion, disorientation, pain (Mammoth had flattened Kid Wykkyd) and then surprise, anger, and a turning to confront their foes.

The Teen Titans stood in a newly made hole in the wall, courtesy of an explosive birdarang.

"You lose," remarked Robin, making his way forward, retractable bo staff extended.

The five gathered Titans squared off against the HIVE Five (now properly five members since the betrayal of their former teammate Jinx.) Almost an even battle. One glance told the Titans what they needed to know. The Five were being controlled by Blood's hypnotism. A reddish glint lit up their eyes. Much of their personality had been left intact, it seemed, but they were still slaves to his will. They would fight to the death, if it came to that.

"Titan's, go!"

The Tower exploded into a flurry of activity. Robin charged in first, hurling a freezing disc at Billy Numerous, hoping to catch the red-clad multiplier off-guard, since he was their biggest threat. Unfortunately, Kid Wykkyd intercepted it with a quick teleport and used his cloak to knock the disc off and to the side, narrowly missing Starfire as she zoomed forward, eyes blazing. A well-placed blow from her tiny Tamaranian fist caught Mammoth full in the face, and the hulking teen went flying through the air to smash against the far wall.

A flurry of laser-blasts shot from cannons on the either side of Gizmo, but were intercepted by a wall of black energy that appeared out of nowhere to counter them, courtesy of Raven. As soon as the barrier fell, a green ram was galloping forward, wicked curved horns low and ready to inflict damage. Unfortunately, Beastboy never got his chance as a strange barrier materialized around See-More, one of his gigantic yellow eye-orbs, and Beastboy hit it and bounced off as if it was rubber. It promptly vanished as See-More adjusted the dial on his helmet to change eye-functions, powering up his laser and letting the energy fly.

Robin countered by whirling his bo-staff before him, though he stumbled backwards. Sarasim, unaccustomed to the sudden and violent display of so many varied and strange powers, was hesitating, sword in hand, by the entrance.

"Sarasim! Go find Cyborg, we'll take care of these guys!"

Grateful, she nodded. "I will return with him momentarily," she said, ducking under a flying body of Billy Numerous. The third that Starfire had picked up and was casually hurling through the air as if they were light as a pillow. Several had tried to dogpile on her, but quickly learned it was a mistake to wrestle with a woman who shot starbolts from her eyes.

Robin returned his attention to the fight and leapt up and out of the way as Mammoth smashed through the floor where he'd been standing, landing on the giant's back and running forward, hurling another three birdarangs at Gizmo, two of which took out his lasers and the third which slammed into his forehead (the tip, which was blunted) and sent him stumbling backwards. Kid Wykkyd was quick to counter-attack and lashed out at the Boy Wonder with his serrated-edge cloak. Robin countered with his own titanium-reinforce one, and they two caped boys locked gazes as they danced a deadly dance.

The doors slid shut as Sarasim slipped out.

* * *

The explosion made the entire structure rock to it's foundation, and the rumbling overhead caused Brother Blood to look up in surprise.

"What was that?!" he spat out. Then immediately, he stepped back from Cyborg, his gaze turning inward, to the mind, and through it, linking telepathically to his minions. Seeing what was happening through their eyes. Upon seeing the Titans, his orders were obvious.

_Attack. No mercy._

But he was slightly puzzled by the appearance of the woman, the one Robin referred to as 'Sarasim.' She was wielding a sword from ages past, yet wearing armor that looked modern. And closely resembled the cybernetic enhancements that kept Cyborg alive.

"Who is she...? Hmmm..." Blood pondered, tapping a metallic claw against his chin. He glanced over at Cyborg. One look told him more than he'd ever hoped, but he decided to humor Cyborg and switched on his voicecoder anyway.

"Who's the new Titan, Cyborg? Friend of yours?"

Cyborg glared up at Brother Blood but said nothing.

"No? Ah well, I suppose I can wait for an introduction... as she's on her way here right now..." replied Blood, turning towards the door.

"Leave her alone!"

_Ah_, he thought. _As I thought. Good... more than one way to break a tin man_.

The door took a while for the barbarian warrior to break down, as it was locked, but eventually she tore open the locking mechanism with her cybernetic gauntlets, ripping it clean out of the wall and tossing it aside. Then she reached in and pushed the door open, sword upraised as she entered.

"No! Stay back!" cried Cyborg.

"Ah... welcome, new Titan," said Blood, suddenly all cultured, polite, as he strolled forward, keeping well out of sword-swing range. "And what is your cute little nickname? Tech-Girl? Cyber? No... Cyborga?"

"I am Sarasim," she replied grimly, raising up her sword and positioning it defensively, ready to counter the instant Brother Blood made his first move.

"And I am Brother Sebastian Blood the Seventh... at your service," replied the crimson cultist with a polite, mocking bow. Sarasim was unimpressed by the gesture, and her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Release Cyborg."

"Afraid I can't do that, my dear..."

"Then I shall take him by force... you have been warned. Prepare yourself...!" she cried, raising her sword and charging forward. Brother Blood grinned, ripping off his robes and hurling them aside, revealing the crimson and black armor beneath, and filling his clawed fingers with blood-red fire as he hurled himself forward to meet her.

Sarasim and Brother Blood clashed violently, ancient bronze sword clashing with reinforced steel claws. Enhanced though her strength was, Sarasim could quickly tell she was dealing with a force far greater, and that to push against it was to risk being overpowered. Thus, she quickly shifted her weight and allowed Blood to push past her, lashing out at his unprotected back with his sword. She missed as he dodged aside as nimbly as an acrobat, landing at the far side of the room.

"Impressive, my dear... you're rather handy with that archaic weapon."

Sarasim did not dignify that with a response as she made another rapid swing, but this time Brother Blood was ready, one hand slapping her blade aside, and the other lashing out at her armor. The blow was negligible, the claws didn't completely penetrate the armor, but Sarasim stumbled backwards from the blow, clutching at her chest. That had been very close.

"A pity... you are still no match for me."

Crystal-blue eyes narrowed dangerously. "I will not permit you to hurt Cyborg... or my friends," she added, thinking of the battle above them. With Cyborg free and Blood defeated, they'd be able to help turn the tide, but that was a bridge they'd have to cross when they got to.

Sarasim changed tactics, leaping upwards, her enhanced leg-plates boosting her natural skill such that she nearly banged her head against the ceiling by accident, sword upraised in an effort to cleave Blood in half vertically. This, however, was a feint, and when Blood did move to counter the attack, he was unprepared as her booted foot lashed out and caught him full in the face, sending him crashing down into a nearby pile of crates containing spare supplies.

The barbarian queen landed awkwardly, wincing slightly. Her foot had taken a lot of punishment from that kick as well, since she'd put so much strength into it. She was armored, like Blood, but she still had living flesh underneath, and it could still be damaged. She would need to be more cautious if the battle went on for much longer.

And unfortunately, it looked like things were only about to heat up.

Brother Blood howled in rage as he pushed himself to his feet, hurling broken boxes left and right in his rage as he pushed himself to his full height, red eyes blazing.

"You... insufferable little...!" he growled, filling his hands with crimson fire.

"Sarasim!" cried out Cyborg in warning. "Lookout!"

A warning received only a fraction too late, as a blast of fiery red shot from Blood's hands and slammed into Sarasim's midsection, sending her crashing to the ground. Her armor had withstood the attack, but she was still rattled from the sheer force of the blow.

She was, fortunately, able to roll out of the way of a second flow. Cyborg's armor enhancing not only her strength, but her agility and speed as well, and she flowed smoothly into a crouched fighting stance. Unfortunately, her blade had been flung free after the first hit, and she was now disarmed.

Worse, Brother Blood had made his way over and calmly picked up her sword, examining his reflection idly in the blade. Shifting it, he gazed out at her, half of his face hidden by the shining metal, though this was an improvement over his usual appearance.

"A bit... primitive... don't you think? But ah well, if this is how you care to duel... so be it..." intoned Blood, holding out her blade as a fencer might. His superior strength allowed him to hold the heavy, two-handed sword as if it weighed no more than a feather in a single hand. A flick of the weapon, and the sharpened metal edge became wreathed in crimson fire, doubling the threat. If a glancing blow didn't finish Sarasim off, the fire certainly would.

Fortunately, she wasn't out of weapons just yet...

Holding up her arms she activated a set of invisible switches, triggering the back of her gauntlets to slide back and a pair of sharp blades to spring forth and lock into place on the back of her wrists. The design was nearly identical to the secret wrist blades she'd used long ago in the Bronze Age, with a key difference. These blades began to glow faintly blue, and a loud hum filled the air as they came on-line.

Brother Blood quirked an eyebrow at her odd new weaponry, but wasn't terribly concerned...

... something he would soon come to regret.

* * *

The roar of a great green T-Rex split the air, accompanied shortly thereafter by the shriek of a tiny bald little boy as he activated his rockets and zoomed out of the way of Beastboy's snapping teeth. However, Beastboy wasn't able to get far, as his great tail was caught up in the grip of the miniature giant Mammoth. His strength far surpassed that of the thunder lizard's form, and with a mighty heave, he hurled Beastboy to the far end of the room, right at Raven. The sorceress quickly enveloped herself in her cloak and vanished out of harm's way as Beastboy crashed into the wall.

Raven re-materialized behind Kid Wykkyd and grabbed a hold of his shoulders, hurling the boy over and away from Robin to give him some breathing room.

"This is taking too long," she remarked, her voice still calm despite the chaos going on around her. "We need to find Titan's East quickly, before something bad happens."

"I agree," said Starfire, dropping down beside the two of them. "I fear for the safety of our friends."

"Alright lemme clear a path... Starfire, go find East...!" he replied, reaching down to the utility belt at his side. With one hand he hurled a pair of exploding disks, sending Mammoth and a small squad of Numerous flying backwards, and with the other he tossed a trio of smoke bombs, covering Starfire's escape as she slipped out of the battlefield.

Now the odds were three to five... a bit more tipped than the Titan's would've cared for, but they'd saved the world a dozen times before they were old enough to drive, and were skilled at using teamwork to their advantage.

The HIVE Five, on the other hand...

"Attack Pattern... Omega!" shouted Gizmo, activating the spider-legs of his backpack and allowing them to lift him up and safely out of reach. Mammoth and Numerous ducked under him and charged forward, three Numerous clones jumping at Robin, Mammoth hoping to smash in Raven's head.

Robin leapt up and over, using a grapple hook to yank himself out of harm's way, and the Numerous clones landed in a heap as they tripped over one another. Raven threw up a defensive black shield to protect herself, though it buckled under the pressure of Mammoth's relentless attack.

See-More slipped in then, hand on the side of his helmet, and let loose a short, concentrated blast of red energy that cracked Raven's shield and allowed Mammoth to break through with the next bone-crunching punch, sending the lavender-haired sorceress flying...

... right into the arms of a green kangaroo as it leapt up into the air, catching her in it's small but thankfully still strong forearms. The kangaroo's flight path was such that it landed forward on it's stronger, larger legs, slamming directly into Mammoth. The bulky superteen went flying through the air to crash into the shallow pool on the level below, sending up a small geyser of water...

... which also, coincidently or not, splashed onto Gizmo, and quickly shorted out his equipment.

"Hey, what-the-hell?! No! This model isn't waterproof! Get-it-off-me! **GET-IT-OFF**!"

Gizmo's hardware went completely haywire, and the little boy genius was send hurtling through the air by a pair of activated rocket packs to slam into the far wall, where he collapsed. Thankfully, the backpack and suit had auto-shutdown systems installed if Gizmo lost consciousness, so there was no further risk to him or the Titans.

Robin dropped down as lightly as a shadow, cloak billowing around him as his eyes searched the smoke and wreckage for any remaining opponents. As the smoke cleared, he saw that indeed, a large number of them were waiting by the far wall, now indented from a starbolt attack earlier in the fight. The path had led into the Titan's East kitchen, and from it emerged a small squadron of Billy Numerous, each brandishing a number of homemade kitchen-appliances-turned-weapons. A rolling pin, a number of knives, forks, one had even decided to bring a frying pan as a bludgeoning instrument.

Robin calmly reached behind his back and drew out his tonfa's, letting them slide out to their full length with a solid 'clack' sound, whirling them about and readying himself in an offensive stance.

The battle continued.

* * *

In the bowels of Titan's Tower, Cyborg watched helplessly as the love of his life did battle with the bane of his existence. Sarasim and Brother Blood seemed more closely matched than he would've liked, and he knew that was primarily because Blood was holding back. He was toying with Sarasim, content that he could beat her and his HIVE underlings could beat the four Titans without Cyborg's help. The classic maneuver of divide and conquer.

Cyborg didn't intend to let him win, but as it was, he was still helpless to do much about it. During the battle, he had done his absolute best to strain against the bonds holding him down, but so far hadn't managed to do much. The restraints were too thick... too strong.

So he had to watch helplessly as Sarasim and Brother Blood battled. He'd already drawn up his files on his previous encounter with Brother Blood, which had given Sarasim enough warning to escape that last attack. He was hoping to give her a similar edge here.

Still, it might not be enough of an edge. Unlike Cyborg, Sarasim was completely human. There was no way Brother Blood would be able to control her, her will power was unquestionable... but there was no way she could face him as an equal, either. Worse, Brother Blood knew it.

"You are a bit out of your league, dear," remarked Brother Blood, casually knocking aside any of the rapid attacks she was making with the wrist-blades, swatting them out of the way as if she was a child. "You have little hope to defeat me... your armor may be impressive, but the warrior inside is not."

Sarasim panted heavily for breath. Even with the armor boosting her strength, it was heavy, and she was throwing all she had into these attacks, which weren't working. She was going to get tired soon. "I can see through your armor as well, evil one," she replied grimly. "I see in you a heart as black as coal..."

"Flattery will get you no where," replied Blood, parrying one of her attacks, then springing forward suddenly, hoping to catch Sarasim off-guard and end the fight quickly, the tip of her sword poised to pierce her heart.

Fortunately, she was counting on that... she'd purposefully left her guard open, gambling that Blood would be unable to resist. As it was, he missed her completely as she spun around, arm upraised, and lashed out with the other glowing blue blade at her wrist.

"YAAAAUURRRGGGHH!"

Sarasim's sword clattered to the ground, followed immediately by Brother Blood's right forearm, severed cleanly at mid-length. Sparks shot from both ends, and the former HIVE Headmaster howled in agony, clutching at his prosthetic limb. The pain was all psychoempathic, since sensors terminated the instant the limb was cut, but as far as a cybernetic individual was concerned, it still hurt like hell.

"You... aaaaaghhhh..." Brother Blood sank to one knee before his sword and arm, as a slender shadow fell over him.

"You should not underestimate me," said Sarasim, crossing both wrist-blades at Brother Blood's throat. From this distance, he could easily see they were the ones projecting the humming noise he'd heard, and he could tell exactly what they were.

"Vibroblades," he hissed. Blades that vibrated so fast it was practically invisible, and could slice through anything as cleanly as a hot knife through butter.

"Whoo! Alright Sarasim, you go girl!" shouted Cyborg from the sidelines, infinitely relieved she'd won. Sarasim blushed faintly at the praise, turning to face Cyborg. Relief was evident in her expression as well.

However, in that critical moment, she let down her guard for real.

And Blood struck.

His hand shot up and instantly grabbed a hold of the front of Sarasim's armor, around her neck, and before she could bring her blades to bear, he hurled her aside with all of his superhuman strength, sending her crashing into the far wall with enough force to shatter her spine. She slumped to the ground.

"NO!"

Brother Blood smirked dangerously, turning back to Cyborg, and reached down to recover his limb, jamming it into the ground by his claws, holding his stump of an arm over it. He filled his other hand with crimson fire, sealing it over the two pieces. He cried out in pain... real, true pain this time... and acrid smoked wafted up from between his fingers, but when he was finished, Cyborg saw it had worked. He'd sealed his hand back into place on his arm. It might've been crude, but it worked.

"Ah..." said Blood, flexing his fingertips. "Much better... now then... Cyborg..."

"No!"

Crimson eyes shot open wide as Blood whirled around in shock, seeing Sarasim. Her armor was dented and broken in places, and the blue glow had faded, showing that power was low. She herself looked a little better, but a cut on her forehead was bleeding feebly. Still, her sword was back in her hand, and she was on her feet, standing.

"This ends now, Brother of Blood," she said. Then, with a mighty war-cry, she took two steps forward and hurled her sword at the crimson cultist.

Brother Blood dodged aside, his shoulders sliding smoothly out of the way as he gracefully shifted out of the blade's path without even moving his feet. Then, he shifted right back, limbs locking into place as he made a slow, deadly advance towards Sarasim.

"You should have made your throw count, wench..."

"She did."

As Brother Blood turned to look in horror, he saw the blade of Sarasim's sword had embedded itself into the metal restraint on Cyborg's left arm, narrowing missing his limb, but breaking the bond. With a smooth, fluid gesture, Cyborg ripped his arm clear, sending the piece clattering to the floor. A smile was on his face.

"Booyah!"

* * *

It was a well-fought battle.

But ultimately, the Titans were being overwhelmed by sheer numbers and brute force. The three remaining hadn't been able to hold their own, and now Robin, Beastboy, and Raven, lay crouched at the far end of the room, battered and beaten. Still standing, still capable of fighting, but not for much longer. The hard wall was to their backs, and arrayed before them the HIVE Five still stood as impressive and dangerous as ever.

Mammoth smacked his fist rhythmically into his palm, a grim expression on his face as he towered over the Titans like a giant over infants. He was going to enjoy this.

"Let's crush these pipsqueaks."

"Yeehaw!" whooped one Billy Numerous, brandishing a frying pan (dented from repeatedly smacking it upside the head of a number of green animals).

Kid Wykkyd and See-More, both bruised and battered from their own fights, nodded in agreement. Their de Facto leader, Gizmo, rested between them, supported on his own two feet. Most of his equipment was fried, but he had enough tech left to toss together a shoulder-mounted laser and take aim. A bright red beam emerged from it, targeting the dead-center of Robin's forehead. The Boy Wonder grimly held his position, tonfa's upraised, ready to move in an instant.

"Hehehehe... who's the loser now, Titans?"

The shoulder-mounted laser powered up, but before it could fire, a bright bolt of green energy slammed into it and it exploded, nearly taking Gizmo's shoulder with it. As one, both teams turned to the entrance, where a freed Titan's East and a _very_ pissed of Starfire stood. Starfire's eyes were like a pair of emerald suns, burning so intensely they washed the whole room in their light.

Nothing ticked her off more than a threat to her friends.

Bumblebee launched herself into the air, giving the customary war-cry of young heroes.

"Titans, go!"

A pair of stingers found their way into her hands, and she twirled them up and over once like a western gunslinger before opening fire, scattering the HIVE Five with a barrage of lightning blasts. A small squad of Billy Numerous' tried to block her advance by forming a human pyramid, but their foundation was swiftly knocked out of place by the twin speedsters, Mas y Menos, and they came tumbling down atop of one another. Mammoth charged forward, fist upraised to crush the twins, but a sudden torrent of water from a broken pipeway halted his charge and sent him flying backwards to slam against the far wall.

"Cludge it! Let's... aaahhh... " grunted Gizmo, clutching at his bald forehead in pain. Self-preservation instincts were battling against Brother Blood's orders to fight to the death. "... get... get out of here! Run!"

Seems self-preservation (meaning cowardice) had won out after all. As one, the HIVE Five broke the control of their Headmaster and turned to run, Kid Wykkyd grabbing up Gizmo and teleporting directly out, while See-More lay down a series of short, rapid bursts to cover the retreat of Billy Numerous and Mammoth, who was still dazed.

Aqualad and Speedy charged after them in pursuit, but were stopped when a green-gloved hand was lifted to intercept them.

"Nah... they're not worth it... let 'em go."

"Yeah," said Bumblebee, slapping her stingers against her sides and locking them into place. "We've had enough fighting today. Those idiots won't get into too much trouble."

"Fightings not over yet," said Raven. "We still have to find Cyborg and Sarasim."

"Who?"

"We'll explain later," said Robin, taking charge. Both teams headed quickly towards the broken doors of the main corridor, and ran or flew full tilt. Cyborg was going to need back-up.

They intended to give it to him.

* * *

Brother Blood's head rotated back and forth on his neck servos, glancing between the battered Cyborg and the exhausted Sarasim. Alone, neither would be a great threat, but together, with no back-up, he was in considerable danger.

Sebastian Blood had never really liked variables. His whole life had been dedicated to eliminating the unknown, eliminating variables. Bringing everything under a single controlling consciousness.

His own.

And whatever didn't obey Blood, he destroyed.

Quickly deciding Sarasim was the less dangerous of the two, and wanting to limit the fight to one-on-one, he thrust out his hand. She had moved quickly, already set to parry an attack, but his aim was not for her, but above her. A blast of crimson energy shot forth from his fingertips, slamming into the shelves of those crates held above the fighters. Weakened from the tremendous blast, the crates scattered, but a good many collapsed downwards, on top of...

"SARASIM!"

Cyborg cried out in denial, but even as he rushed forward, past Blood, he could see he was far too late. The crates of heavy equipment and supplies had completely buried Sarasim, giving the Barbarian Queen barely a chance to scream before she was crushed. Picking up one crate and tossing it aside like it was made of feathers instead of heavy wood, he quickly uncovered Sarasim.

She lay very, very still... and she was covered in blood. She wasn't breathing.

"... no..." Cyborg whispered, the air seeming to flee from his lungs as the impact of what had happened hit him. Sarasim was gone.

"... Sarasim... no..."

He'd... never even gotten to tell her...

Tears started to leak from his one good eye, his one remaining human eye, and he felt his entire body shudder as he was overwhelmed by his feelings. Behind him, he could sense Brother Blood nearby still, but the crimson cultist wasn't attacking. Not that he cared... right now, he would have gladly died as well, if it could've spared him this pain.

"Tragic," hissed Blood, though his voice suggested he found this scene anything but tragic. He sounded almost gleeful. "But it doesn't have to be like this, Cyborg..."

Cyborg raised his head, tears still streaking down his fleshy cheek as he regarded Blood.

"I can save her... she isn't beyond my powers yet. You can have her back, Cyborg," said Brother Blood, holding out his hand.

Cyborg's decision then was a terrible one. When Brother Blood had offered Cyborg back his humanity at the HIVE Academy (whether or not he could have was irrelevant), Cyborg had been more than able to resist, because while he'd lost his humanity, he'd made peace with the fact many years before he'd gone undercover as Stone.

But Sarasim... he'd known what it was like to lose her once, to think her gone forever. To lose her again...

Cyborg looked up, seeing Brother Blood still standing there, quietly, patiently, holding out his own hand towards him. A symbolic gesture, promising everything he wanted... everything he needed...

Slowly, Cyborg lifted up his hand...

... and smacked Brother Blood's aside as he pushed himself to his feet.

"You... bastard!"

Blood stumbled backwards in shock, his arm very nearly torn from it's socket from the force of Cyborg's backhand. "Cyborg... stop... think about what you're doing... think about Sara..."

"Don't you say her name!"

Cyborg howled in anger, his pain turning to rage, and sparks of white lightning leapt from one part of his body to another. A blue glow has coalesced around his body. To say Brother Blood was shocked was an understatement, but the cool, logical part of his mind had noticed this, and curious about this phenomenon, decided it needed further study. This was almost _exactly_ what had happened during their last encounter.

The former HIVE Headmaster reached up and flicked a switch on the side of his skull, enabling his prosthetic eye from a normal viewing mode (suitable for a human's brain) into a high-powered analytical mode. What he saw amazed him further.

Cyborg's power levels were skyrocketing upwards, with no visible input. It was like he was plugged into a recharger... but he wasn't.

And his powers levels were _still_ climbing.

**_75%... 88%... 90%... 100%... 103%... 112%...!_**

"What... how...?"

Every single piece of his armor was glowing, shining with an inner light, and his one prosthetic eye burned like a fiery ruby. But his other one still outshone it, an in it, if one looked closely, one could see a myriad of emotions struggling for an outlet.

Brother Blood couldn't see. Couldn't understand... the world was facts to him, black and white, as cold and sterile as a machine. He could barely understand emotions as things he could manipulate, or that sense of fury he felt when he was thwarted. He could never comprehend what real, true emotions were like. Especially not this one.

Love.

"Hey Blood!" growled Cyborg, his voice contorted by anger. "You wanted to know what makes me tick, right?! Well here's a lesson for **you**, teach!"

Cyborg charged forward, both of his heavy, powerful mechanical legs pumping, as he reared back his mighty right arm, fingers coiling into a fist that was going to knock Brother Blood's head clean off his shoulders. The crimson cultist quickly threw up a defensive shield to protect himself, confident it would withstand Cyborg's power. After all, it had stopped an ion-amplified blast from his sonic cannon.

However, to his surprise, Cyborg didn't attack with his right fist, but quickly threw out his left in an awkward jab, smashing it hard against the pulsating crimson wall Blood had conjured into being. Sparks flew as power met power, science battled sorcery. And, as Blood watched in horrific fascination, he saw his crimson barrier become engulfed in a myriad of cracks, and then shatter like it was made of glass.

"What?!"

_Then_ Cyborg made his move, his body still hurled forward. His left fist had been an opening ploy to remove Brother Blood's shield. His right was the finisher, and as Blood watched in stark horror, he saw his fist and arm shift, change, forming the sonic cannon that was already filled with glowing blue energy, and heading straight for him.

"Noooo!"

Cyborg let loose his attack at point-blank range, right at Blood's chestplate, which was so powerful and violent it ripped through the former HIVE Headmaster's durable titanium-steel armor like it was cheese. Rippling waves of sonic energy overtook Blood, drowning out his cry of disbelief and rendering it incoherent, even as he slammed into the far wall. He hit with such force his body left a dent in the shape of his body. Blood lingered there a moment longer as the blast faded away, before slumping forward.

Cyborg caught him on the way down, grabbing the front of his chestplate and hauling him up to face him. He seemed to want to say something, but Cyborg's jaw worked noiselessly, all of his words lost behind a wail of rage as he slammed his fist down hard against Blood's face, cracking his iron jaw and hurtling him to the floor.

Tears continued to stream from Cyborg's one good eye as he sprang after Blood. He reared back his fist, preparing to reduce Brother Blood's skull into scrap.

"Cyborg! No!"

"Don't do it Sparky!"

Two bodies suddenly hit him, one grabbing a hold of his upraised arm, the other his midsection to hold him down. Beastboy and Bumblebee had tackled Cyborg and were straining against the sheer power of his mechanical frame to hold him down.

"Don't do this buddy!" said Beastboy, straining almost comically to hold down Cyborg, when it was clear a flick from his finger could knocked the slight green metamorph aside.

"This isn't who you are!"

Cyborg's position didn't change, his fist remained upraised, but his head swiveled, and he could see there, all of his friends had gathered, and almost as one, they had a look of abject fear on their faces. Not for themselves, but for him.

And though she wasn't standing with them, Cyborg could feel her with them too. She didn't want him to be like this either. She would not have wanted him to become like Blood, even if it meant leaving her death unavenged.

Slowly, with a shudder, Cyborg dropped his arm back down to his side, and lowered his head, eyes shut tightly. Tears continued to stream from his human eye, having never stopped since the moment they'd begun. In a way, they showed how truly human he was under all that technology. And how much he'd cared for Sarasim.

The Titans and Titan's East gathered around Cyborg, but no one seemed able to say anything. Any words of comfort seemed insufficient.

That was, however, until Robin, who had moved to check on Sarasim, cried out...

"She's still alive!"

* * *

**Author's Notes:  
**Sebastian Blood is the real name of the character, though I am guessing he is the seventh version, as he seems to borrow more influence from that Brother Blood instead of the eighth, who was more vampiric and less cultist.

Brother Blood has been defeated, but the story is not yet over. Sarasim is alive, but what fate remains for her, and Cyborg?


	5. Price of Victory

She was alive and stable, but her body had taken quite a terrible beating from Brother Blood. Her ribs had been broken and she was suffering from bleeding both internal and external. Thankfully, none of her vital organs had been pierced, her armor had protected her from the very worst of the fall, and she'd been reached quickly before the damage could grow worse. Raven's magic had stopped her bleeding, and thanks to the assistance of Herald, they'd been able to get her to a hospital in record time. If she hadn't been wearing that armor, she'd have been far, far worse off.

Unfortunately, that was not all.

Her skull was fractured, and they were still trying to determine just how much damage that had done to the rest of her. It was anyone's guess when she would wake up at this point. And Raven's healing could do nothing further for her. Even her mystical powers had limits to them.

Cyborg had stayed by her side all the way from East Tower, hassling the doctors with his insistent pleas that they do something, anything, to save her. Eventually, they'd had to order him out into the lobby while they worked to restore some of the damage. Right now, Starfire and Raven were permitted to keep watch over Sarasim, while Bumblebee, Robin, and Beastboy tried to keep Cyborg under control. Surgery had gone well, they'd assured them, but they still need to give some time to make sure.

The rest of the East team was locking up Blood (or what was left of him) in a security center with some added features to disrupt his telepathy. He wasn't going to be getting out again anytime soon.

It wasn't easy on any of them.

"Cyborg... what happened... it wasn't your fault," said Robin slowly, though the words he spoke were hollow. Even to himself they did not sound terribly convincing, and he knew full well why.

"Sarasim's going to be fine, Sparky," added Bumblebee, quickly covering her fellow group leader. "They've got state-of-the-art equipment here... best medicine money can buy. And you know we'll sell Titan's Tower if that's what it takes."

"... state-of-the-art..." murmured Cyborg.

By unspoken consent, the other patients and staff had been giving them a wide berth. And with fairly good reason, because Cyborg had been pacing back and forth. He'd been so agitated a moment ago, hassling doctors, worrying, but all his energy seemed to have been sucked out of him, and now all he could do was stare out the nearby window as he paced. Stare out at the stars and the lights of the city below. And remember how joyful Sarasim had been to see real city lights. To get her new suit of armor...

"... this _is_ all my fault" he realized bitterly.

"That's not true!" said Beastboy emphatically. "Bonehead Blood's the one who hurt her, not you!"

"I should've protected her... I should've been able to protect her..." he protested.

"She knew the risks," said Robin, knowing full well he bore some blame in this as well. Letting Sarasim fight Brother Blood without back-up. Then again, it was as he'd told himself earlier... could he have really stopped her? Could any of them have?

"She... she shouldn't have come..." murmured Cyborg, lightly banging his fist against the wall. "She'd've been better off in her own time."

To that, none of them knew quite what to say. Fortunately, they didn't need to know. As it turned out, at that moment the door at the far end of the room opened, revealing Raven, Starfire, and a blonde nurse who quickly made their way over towards the gathered young heroes. Their expressions did not seem overly downcast, and Cyborg seized onto this, hope blossoming within him.

"How's Sarasim? Is she okay?" he asked, seizing the nurse by her shoulders.

"The Surgery went well," she said slowly, reading off the clipboard before her. "We patched up her head, she suffered absolutely no brain damage... we're going to have to keep her here at least a few days to see what kind of..."

"Can I see her?"

The nurse blinked in surprise. "Uhm, I... Mr. Stone, I don't..."

"Please..." he whispered.

* * *

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Jump City Hospital. Room 402.

The room was near silent, punctuated only by the slow but steady beep-beep-beep of the vitals monitor. Almost no furniture save for the bed the patient rested on and a single chair beside it. And an IV bag was tapped into their arm, feeding them a steady glucose supplement.

Patient: Sarasim. No family name.

Cyborg peered down at her, trembling, unable to bear seeing her like this. She'd always been on the smallish size, at least compared to him, but now, buried under a pale green hospital sheet and all those hoses and wires, she looked even smaller, even more fragile. Her head was bandaged, there would probably be scarring, and it would take time for her lovely black hair to re-grow to its original length.

For a moment, his vision blurred, and he wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand.

_... Sarasim peered up at him from her one remaining blue eye, the other a cold red. Half of her face was metal now, a silvery-white steel that molded against her head and neck and down into the sleeveless green hospital garment. Half of her arms, from shoulder to elbow, were still human enough, but they ended in mechanical arms, which she held before her, staring down at her new technological limbs..._

_"Why...? Why...?! Why couldn't you have just let me diiiiieeee?!" she screamed at him._

Cyborg stumbled backwards, blinking hard to clear his vision. To his relief, when it passed... he saw she was the same as before. She was completely organic... completely human... still. But the image in his mind had been so real... and so very terrifying.

After he'd become a cybernetic being, he'd hated the one who'd done it to him. More than anything else, he'd wanted to die human rather than become some kind of science freak. He couldn't bear the thought of Sarasim thinking of him the same way. He wouldn't wish that sort of life onto anyone... not even, he realized with some bitter irony... his worst enemy.

Sarasim's armor lay in a corner of the room, having been brought over by some of the nurses after it had been stripped off of her for the surgery. It was battered and broken, and were Cyborg not concerned about Sarasim, he would've likely been thinking about how long it would take him to repair the suit. Right now, he couldn't have given two damns if civilization collapsed and mankind re-entered the Stone Age, so long as she was alright when the night ended and morning came around.

Very, very gently, he took her small hand in his larger one, giving a soft squeeze, though it was more for his benefit than hers.

"I'm sorry, Sarasim..." he said. "For everything. None of this would've happened if... if..." his voice trailed off, the words catching in his throat. So much he wanted to say, but couldn't. But he be damned if he didn't say this much.

"I love you, Sarasim. I love you so much it hurts to think about losing you again. I can't lose you... please... don't leave me... please..." he broke down then, his words dissolving as tears again flowed freely, and he sank onto his knees, weak and helpless to save the woman he loved.

He almost didn't believe his sensors when he felt her gentle squeeze back. His head snapped up in an instant.

Her pretty crystal-blue eyes opened then, slowly, gently. "Never," she murmured softly.

"... Sarasim..." he murmured, squeezing her hand gently, very careful not to accidentally crush it. It was hard though. Especially when all he wanted to do right now was just sweep her up into his arms and crush her body against his. But she'd had enough damage done to her today. So he held himself back.

"What happened?" she asked softly, her eyes still half-closed. "I feel... strange..."

"Sedatives," he surmised. "The doctors... er... the healers, they had to use them on you to numb the pain. Probably making you sleepy..."

"Oh, I see..." she murmured quietly. That explained why her eyelids were feeling so very heavy...

"Maybe... maybe you should get some rest," offered Cyborg gently.

Her hand tightened softly around his. "You'll stay with me?"

The more logical side of his mind warned Cyborg such a venture would be dangerous, his power cells were nearly depleted already from his battle with Brother Blood. But his human side... his heart... quickly outvoted them, and he pulled up a nearby chair, seating himself down beside Sarasim, reaching out a hand to gently stroke her forehead.

"Try and stop me," he promised.

* * *

Several weeks passed.

Sarasim's recovery was slow, but a complete one, and she emerged from the hospital on the sixth day under her own power, with no remaining injuries. Her black hair was still unpleasantly short, but Starfire had loaned her a wide-brim hat to help conceal that fact. And of course, her friends didn't care what she looked like. They judged on what was inside, not outside.

Still, she had just enough personal vanity to make her wear the hat. At least for a few days.

The warrior woman had elected to begin her training again slowly, partly to allow her body to fully heal, and partly to allow Cyborg a chance to fix her armor. As such, she spent a great deal more time with her friends. She was a warrior at the core, but that did not mean she could not appreciate times of peace. So she'd enjoyed a late-night movie with Beastboy, some practice meditation with Raven, and a trip to the Mall for some ice-cream with Starfire.

Tonight, she was climbing the stairs of Titan's Tower to the roof. Her armor lay below in her room, and instead of her customary tunic she was wearing a yellow silken blouse and a long skirt that the other girls had helped her buy at the Mall.

The door slid open, and Sarasim beheld a breathtaking sight. The setting of the sun, which tinted the perfect blue sky a brilliant orange and gold. And there, visible mostly as a shadowy silhouette (highlighted by silver and blue) was Cyborg. Waiting for her. As one, they sat down on the edge of the tower, their legs dangling over the sides. Though it was a good deal higher than the village wall from her own time, Sarasim had no fear. Her guardian would never allow her to come to any harm. She had complete faith in him.

As he had in her.

"The world can change so much with the passage of time… with weapons and vehicles and cities that are so… high tech," she said, stumbling over the unfamiliar words. "But some things never change," she said, turning to watch the sun set.

"... yeah... and Blood'll never be able to understand that."

She giggled softly at that. "He is… I believe the saying goes… a few Okaarans short of a Finbar?"

Cyborg laughed at that… not because it was a funny joke (though he understood what she meant) but he realized Sarasim had been spending entirely too much time with Starfire.

And that wasn't a bad thing, either.

"Few cans short of a six-pack might be easier to understand if you tell anyone else that joke," remarked Cyborg idly. "Anyone who isn't from Tamaran, at least."

She nodded, sighing contently as she leaned against his arm, resting her head against it. Most people who touched Cyborg's flesh (and you could usually count that number one on hand) usually remarked on how cold it was… a result of having so very little actual blood in his body. But Sarasim never complained… never cared. She could feel the warmth coming all the way from his heart and soul.

Gently, Cyborg cupped her chin, tilting her head up, even as she leaned forward, their lips reaching for one another, their eyes drifting closed...

... and then Cyborg's shot open as his internal sensors registered danger, his head whipping around just in time to spot a bright ball of white lightning whirling down towards them.

"Lookout!" he cried, scooping up Sarasim in his arms and launching himself up into the air with the powerful hydraulics in his legs. They cleared the blast, which took out a good portion of the roof where they were just sitting, and landed on the far end of the rooftop, safe and sound.

For the moment.

Their attacker was easy to pinpoint, high up in the sky over Titan's Island. He was arrayed in a bright monochrome uniform that glowed like the sun, which made him an easy target to spot in the rapidly darkening sky. He floated on a hoverdisk, obviously unable to fly with his own power. Cyborg rolled his eyes, cursing under his breath. Honestly, did this guy never learn? What was his doctorate in, getting his butt handed to him?

"Behold, Titans! The brilliance of _Doctor_ _Light_!" hollered the supervillain, powering up another blast of superheated solar rays. Fortunately, this one was intercepted as a wall of black energy manifested in the space above their heads, shielding Cyborg and Sarasim.

The other Titans had entered the fray, taking up defensive stances underneath Raven's shield. Sarasim stepped forward as well, but Cyborg caught her arm before she went too far.

"Wait, your armor...!" he started to say.

She shrugged off his arm gently. "I thought I told you... a true warrior doesn't need it!"

"True warrior could use a weapon, at least!" remarked Robin, tossing her his birdarang sword, which Sarasim caught lightly, twirling it in her grasp as she took up a defensive stance. Beside her, Cyborg powered up his sonic cannon. Robin gave their battle cry, and the Titans charged forward to meet their enemy.

And Sarasim charged with them, beside her beloved Cyborg, an equal.

United by a timeless love.

* * *

**Author's Notes:  
**Original ideas for this chapter included a partially or fully Cyborg-esque Sarasim (further prices from the Witch and her magic from way back in the beginning of the story), but I ultimately decided it did no justice to her character or the theme of the story, and opted for just the nightmare sequence instead.


End file.
